US House committee approves plan to rein in the likes of Facebook and Amazon
- The report proposes extensive changes to antitrust law
- The first bill, aimed at making it easier for news groups to negotiate with internet platforms, was introduced in March
The US House of Representatives Judiciary Committee formally approved a report accusing Big Tech companies of buying or crushing smaller firms, Representative David Cicilline’s office said in a statement on Thursday.
With the approval during a marathon, partisan hearing, the more than 400-page staff report will become an official committee report, and the blueprint for legislation to rein in the market power of the likes of Alphabet Inc’s Google, Apple Inc, Amazon.com Inc and Facebook Inc.
The report was approved by a 24-17 vote that split along party lines. The companies have denied any wrongdoing.
The report first released in October – the first such congressional review of the tech industry – suggested extensive changes to antitrust law and described dozens of instances where it said the companies had misused their power.
“Amazon, Apple, Google, and Facebook each hold monopoly power over significant sectors of our economy. This monopoly moment must end,” Cicilline said in a statement. “I look forward to crafting legislation that addresses the significant concerns we have raised.”
The first bill has already been introduced. A bipartisan group of US lawmakers led by Cicilline and Senator Amy Klobuchar introduced legislation in March aimed at making it easier for news organisations to negotiate collectively with platforms like Google and Facebook.
Also in the Senate, Klobuchar introduced a broader bill in February to strengthen antitrust enforcers’ ability to stop mergers by lowering the bar for stopping deals and giving them more money for legal fights.