By John Eggerton, Broadcasting & Cable Online, 6-4-19
The House Judiciary Committee is opening a bipartisan, “top to bottom,” investigation into Big Tech and whether it has been allowed to get big anticompetitively.
The committee has announced a series of hearings in the Antitrust Subcommittee on the “rise of market power online” and is seeking information from the relevant companies. Those companies would likely include Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google.
“A small number of dominant, unregulated platforms have extraordinary power over commerce, communication, and information online,” the committee said on its website. “Based on investigative reporting and oversight by international policymakers and enforcers, there are concerns that these platforms have the incentive and ability to harm the competitive process.”
The investigation’s goals will be “1) Documenting competition problems in digital markets; 2) Examining whether dominant firms are engaging in anti-competitive conduct; and 3) Assessing whether existing antitrust laws, competition policies, and current enforcement levels are adequate to address these issues.” » Read More