From Ryan Tracy's "Antitrust Bill Targeting Amazon, Google, Apple Gets Support From DOJ" posted Tuesday by the Wall Street Journal:
The Justice Department Monday endorsed legislation forbidding large digital platforms such as Amazon and Google from favoring their own products and services over competitors’, marking the Biden administration’s first full-throated support of the antitrust measure.
“The Department views the rise of dominant platforms as presenting a threat to open markets and competition, with risks for consumers, businesses, innovation, resiliency, global competitiveness, and our democracy,” says a letter to bipartisan leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee, signed by Peter Hyun, the Justice Department’s acting assistant attorney general for legislative affairs.
The letter, obtained by The Wall Street Journal, expresses support for the American Innovation and Choice Online Act, which the Senate’s judiciary panel approved in January in a bipartisan vote, as well as similar legislation moving through the House.
Amazon.com Inc., AlphabetInc.’s GOOG +0.88% Google, Apple Inc. AAPL +0.85% and others oppose the proposed legislation, saying it would make it harder to offer popular services. The bills’ opponents also say it is fair for e-marketplaces, search engines and app stores to profit off their creations’ popularity.
The department’s letter throws its weight behind a different view: that the platforms’ dominant position gives them unchecked power to influence the fate of other businesses, and that restricting the platforms’ conduct would carry significant benefits.
“Discriminatory conduct by dominant platforms can sap the rewards from other innovators and entrepreneurs, reducing the incentives for entrepreneurship and innovation,” the letter says. “Even more importantly, the legislation may support the growth of new tech businesses adjacent to the platforms, which may ultimately pose a critically needed competitive check to the covered platforms themselves.”
Here's a link to the letter
My take: Tommo_UK saw this coming. Me, I recall Rep. Ro Khanna's interview with Kara Swisher last week in which he suggested that any legislation targeting big tech faced an uphill fight given how popular companies like Apple are and how unpopular Congress is.
As a brilliant innovator, here is my million dollar idea. Buy a few pallets of soda from Costco and pay some min wage kids to sell the soda for $2 that cost 25 cents. I’ll use a contract labor org to eliminate any liability. Brilliant, eh? helping grow the economy, creating jobs…….
The above is utter bullshit. It would be more accurate if you changed the word “dominant” with “popular” or “most trusted.”
What am I missing? I honestly want to know.
From Inc:
“This 1 Surprising Thing Makes Tim Cook’s Morning Routine Remarkably Successful. It’s Unlike Anything I’ve Seen Before.”
The problem I’m having is “Cui Boni”… It’s clear this legislation is focused not on benefiting consumers, but on benefiting (potential) competitors. Of course, consumers don’t spend megabucks on lobbying (or on carefully constructed PR/court cases, either…)
“The problem I’m having is “Cui Boni”…”
I don’t speak latin, but I’d guess that means “Who Benefits”….
And maybe just as importantly, are there any political ramifications?
” Lucius Cassius, whom the Roman people used to regard as a most honest and most wise judge, was in the habit of asking time and again in lawsuits: “to whom might it be for a benefit?” “
To reiterate and to recapitulate: this proposed legislation never sees the “light-of-day.” My Congressional office holders already have been placed on alert that this proposed bill is not the problem we demand Congress to address.
Sidenote: Still on track for 185 by Friday.
Conservatives mount campaigns against right to chose, Race Theory, Books in school, LGBTG and conspiracy. (See Gruber post about Nebraska politician worried about kids identifying as cats OMG – spoiler not true)
Current admin working hard to destroy the greatest US companies the WORLD has ever seen! Who benefits? Not the consumer. And Europe is walking hand-in-hand!
It’s bass-akwards!