Advocacy: Fall Update on Antitrust Legislation to Rein in Big Tech
In June, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee passed a package of groundbreaking bipartisan antitrust bills. The legislation was developed based on the findings of a two-year investigation conducted by the Antitrust Subcommittee into abuses and market concentration in the Big Tech industries. The bills are targeted at the very biggest and least accountable Big Tech companies – Facebook, Amazon, Google and Apple. The legislation addresses some of the worst marketplace practices that have flourished because of the monopoly power these companies exercise.
In a rare show of bipartisanship in this polarized Congress, each of the bills has one Democratic and one Republican lead sponsor. Similarly, when the bills passed committee, they received bipartisan support, but also bipartisan opposition. While the legislation enjoys sweeping support within the Democratic Party, there is opposition from Democrats who represent districts with a Big Tech presence, particularly in California. And while most Members of the Republican party do not support robust antitrust enforcement, there is a handful who understand that a healthy free market depends on free and fair competition.
Not surprisingly, Big Tech is waging a multi-million dollar lobbying campaign to defeat the legislation, including running TV ads and hiring high-priced lawyers and lobbyists. COSAL has joined up with a grassroots coalition fighting on behalf of consumers and small businesses to support the antitrust package. We have endorsed a soon-to-be-unveiled coalition website called Rein In Big Tech, which will help educate the public about the legislation and provide user-friendly tools for average citizens to urge their representatives to support the measures.
COSAL also joined with more than 50 other organizations on the attached letter to Speaker Pelosi and Minority Leader McCarthy urging them to support the antitrust package and bring it up for a vote on the House floor. Click here to read the letter.
COSAL will continue to work with the House and Senate and our coalition allies until this historic antitrust legislation becomes law.
