'Democratic lawmakers are calling for the U.S. to rein in the power of technology titans Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google, as well as overhauling U.S. antitrust law, in a sweeping report on the dominance of Big Tech in American lives and markets.
The 450-page
report, released Tuesday by the House Antitrust Subcommittee, details a range of anticompetitive practices, charging the four companies with acting as gatekeepers, stifling competition, charging "exorbitant" fees and eroding democracy.
"Put simply, companies that once were scrappy, underdog startups that challenged the status quo have become the kinds of monopolies we last saw in the era of oil barons and railroad tycoons," the report said.'
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House Democrats say Big Tech must be reined in, October 6, 2020
'..Subcommittee staff identified a broad set of reforms for further examination by the Members of the Subcommittee for purposes of crafting legislative responses to the findings of this Report. These reforms include proposals to: (1) address anticompetitive conduct in digital markets; (2) strengthen merger and monopolization enforcement; and (3) improvethe sound administration of the antitrust laws through other reforms. We intend these recommendations to serve as a complement to vigorous antitrust enforcement. Consistent with the views expressed by Chairman Nadler and Subcommittee Chairman Cicilline in the Foreword to this Report, we view these recommendations as complements, and not substitutes, to forceful antitrust enforcement.'
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Investigation of Competition in Digital Markets (2020), p 20
Context(Digital gangsters) - Facebookâs Data Deals Are Under Criminal Investigation - Apple, Amazon, MicrosoftBig data meets Big Brother - '..The real questions about the future .. they are ethical.'