House Passes Bill Aiming to Counter Dominance of Big Tech

Logos of the Big Tech giants are displayed on a tablet, on Oct. 1, 2019. Denis Charlet/AFP via Getty Images

The House on Thursday passed a package of bipartisan antitrust bills that target big technology companies and bring in more funds to federal regulators.

The Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act will update fees for the first time in two decades. The State Antitrust Enforcement Act will grant state officials the same deference as antitrust officials from the federal government with regard to where such cases will be heard. The Foreign Merger Subsidy Disclosure Act will make it mandatory for firms seeking merger approvals to disclose subsidies they receive from foreign nations that are deemed to pose economic or strategic risks to the United States.

The bill package was passed by a vote of 242–184. Before the vote, Rep. Lori Trahan (D-Mass.) accused multibillion-dollar corporations of having grown into behemoths and eliminating “any real competition in their industries,” according to AP. Such companies are using market dominance to hurt customers and small businesses, she stated.

In reference to Facebook and Instagram’s parent company, Trahan said, “Meta’s monopoly power has enabled it to harm women, children, and people of all ages without recourse. Amazon has used its dominance to copy competitors’ products and run small businesses into the ground.”

Those who support the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act praise it as a way for ensuring more funds for anti-monopoly regulators who are said to be underfunded.

Large companies looking for mergers and acquisitions will now have to pay higher fees to get government approval. For companies that seek smaller mergers, they have to pay lower fees.

The State Antitrust Enforcement Act will give greater freedom to state officials in deciding where they fight so-called Big Tech.

If the bill had been in effect, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton may have been able to keep his antitrust lawsuit against Google in Texas. The case is now being heard in New York.

Criticism, Radical Proponents

Though the bill has support from certain Republicans, many GOP members have opposed it. Before the Thursday vote, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) railed against the bill for giving more funds to what he claimed was a corrupt Department of Justice (DoJ).

“This bill would actually give $140 million to the DoJ so they can work and continue what they’re already doing: work with Big Tech to censor certain information from getting to we the people,” Jordan said, according to the New York Post.

In a tweet on Sept. 27, the House Judiciary GOP claimed that Democrats want to set aside more money for the DoJ and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to “target conservatives.”

Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) called Lina Khan, the head of the FTC, a “radical leftist” who is seeking to replace the decisions of customers with her own, according to AP.

At an event sponsored by the heterodox Law and Political Economy Project in July, Khan had called the free market a “product of metaphysical forces” and lamented that the government did not play enough role in “shaping markets and economic outcomes,” according to Breitbart.

The bill has the support of many Democrats in the Senate. On the Republican side, Senators Tom Cotton from Arkansas, Mike Lee from Utah, and Chuck Grassley from Iowa have announced their support for the bill.