Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives released a nearly 450-page antitrust report on Tuesday, and found that Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google all have monopoly powers and in some cases should split some of their businesses.
Members of Congress shoulder the arduous task of rewriting American antitrust laws, something that they have never done seriously in decades. In 1890 and 1914, the United States passed the Sherman Act (Sherman Act) and the “Clayton Act” (Clayton Act) two major antitrust laws, and also passed the Federal Trade Commission Act in 1914 “(Federal Trade Commission Act), and under this bill established the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), giving it the power to regulate competition.
But experts testified in an investigation by the House of Representatives Judicial Antitrust Subcommittee that since the promulgation of these laws, court rulings have made it increasingly difficult for the government to win when it tries to challenge mergers or monopolies. The Democratic Party staff member who occupied the majority of seats on this committee wrote in his report that since the antitrust law was promulgated, the “court has greatly weakened” the antitrust law, which is in line with Congress’s intention to focus on “consumer welfare” contradiction.
The Democratic Party staff suggested that Congress should return to the original intention of the antitrust laws and clarify that these laws are not only to protect consumers, but also to “protect labor, entrepreneurs, independent enterprises, open markets, a fair economy, and democratic ideals.”
The four technology giants have all issued statements opposing House Democrats describing their businesses as monopolies, and insisting that fierce competition still exists in their respective markets.
Representative Pramila Jayapal, a member of the Antitrust Subcommittee and Washington State Democratic Representative, said she believes that “major legislation” that is based on the recommendations of the report will be available in the next legislative session. Submit within 6 months.
Despite differences in some of the proposed changes, lawmakers from both parties are still interested in antitrust reforms. In the Democratic-dominated antitrust subcommittee, Rep. Ken Buck, the Republican of Colorado, has always been one of the key “allies” of the Democratic Party to promote reforms. He announced his response to the report on Tuesday. Outlines the “common ground” and “unfeasible” areas.
The US Congress will need to take urgent action to keep up with the rapid changes in the markets where technology companies operate. Many technology companies are already facing the threat of imminent enforcement actions by antitrust agencies, including the expectation that the US Department of Justice will file a lawsuit against Google. Once the Justice Department filed a lawsuit, the judicial war may still take several years to end, which will increase the Justice Department’s need for Congress to allocate more resources to it.
Although the top agenda next year will be some other legislative tasks, Jayapar said she still hopes that anti-monopoly reform can be one of them.
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