As things stand, the US could now be quicker than the UK to adopt new antitrust laws to tackle the dominance of big tech
There is real bipartisan support behind antitrust reform in the US: For some time, US lawmakers have shown signs of bipartisan support for legislation to curb the power of big tech. However, few believed that Republicans would approve laws that disrupt the business models of large and successful American companies, due to their traditional hands-off approach and their tendency to consider the success of these businesses to be in the national interest. Last week we may have witnessed a turning point. The Judiciary Committee of the US senate approved the American Choice and Innovation Online Act, which aims to prevent dominant online platforms from carrying out anticompetitive conduct, including self-preferencing. The approval came with a clear majority (16–6).
Big tech is extremely concerned: Ahead of the vote in the Senate committee, the tech industry ramped up its lobbying efforts against the bill – perhaps a sign that they believe it could have legs. Amazon and Google released statements warning about unintended consequences, as the rules could break features that consumers and sellers on marketplaces find useful. Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, made a phone call to a Republican senator warning that Apple may not be able to let consumers opt out of tracking from apps. These efforts did not sway the committee. Only one amendment was adopted, to limit foreign companies’ access to American user data due to interoperability requirements.
Approval in both chambers is not yet granted: The bill is now ready for a vote in both chambers of the Congress. However, final approval could still take some time. Despite last week’s result, the debate in the Senate committee showed that several Democrats share the concerns around privacy, security, and consumer benefit that industry has highlighted. This does not bode well for a speedy approval, and could make the bill subject to significant changes. There is also the question of whether antitrust bills are a priority for Congress ahead of the midterm elections due to take place in November.
Will 2022 be the year of action?: It is now very likely that sweeping antitrust reforms will be adopted in key jurisdictions this year. In the EU, the Digital Markets Act could be approved as early as March. Despite a promising start, the UK now risks lagging behind. The Government consulted on the new competition framework for digital markets in Q3 2021, but has not yet laid legislation before Parliament. It has committed to legislate as soon as parliamentary time allows, though it is currently unclear when this will happen. Considering that the US bill is ready for a floor vote, the UK framework could now be the last to get approval.
Source: https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/meetings/01/14/2022/executive-business-meeting
