Huge changes for internet and Big Tech under U.S. antitrust proposal
The antitrust overhaul package unveiled in Congress targeting Big Tech, if enacted, could have far-reaching effects on how people make an online search and on America's biggest and most successful companies.
The five bills, due for a committee vote on Wednesday, could pave just how for a reorganization or breakup of giants such as for example Google, Facebook, Apple and Amazon while reshaping the complete internet ecosystem.
The measures would stop tech giants from operating a platform for third parties and will be offering competing services on those platforms, dealing a major blow to famous brands Apple and Amazon.
Lawmakers also are seeking to ban tech firms from prioritizing their own products or services, with Google clearly at heart.
Another measure would require data "portability" and "interoperability," which will make it easier for people to quit Facebook, for instance, while keeping their data and contacts.
The largest tech firms additionally will be barred from acquiring competitors under the package, which would also add funds for antitrust enforcement.
Fiona Scott Morton, a Yale University professor and former U.S. official who has written extensively on Big Tech, said the legislation stems from the failure of antitrust enforcement in the U.S. and elsewhere to generate a dent in the dominance of major technology firms.
"This is regulation, it's not antitrust anymore," Morton said.
If the bills are enacted, she noted, Apple may need to sell or turn off its music service in order that it generally does not discriminate against rivals such as for example Spotify.
"Apple would need to choose," she said.
An interoperability requirement "will be very profound for consumers since it would let persons join social networks other than Facebook and (Facebook-owned) Instagram and stay static in contact with their friends," Morton noted.
The package comes amid signs of a far more aggressive posture by Washington against dominant tech firms, including President Joe Biden's nomination of Lina Khan -- a prominent advocate of splitting up Big Tech -- to head the Federal Trade Commission, among the agencies charged with antitrust enforcement.
The House Judiciary Committee has scheduled a vote Wednesday on the package, which includes some support from Republicans in addition to the Democratic leadership, signaling a odds of passage in the entire House of Representatives. The fate in the Senate is less clear.
The measures come following a 16-month investigation in the House led by antitrust subcommittee chairman David Cicilline which figured tech giants were abusing their dominant positions and had an excessive amount of power throughout the market.
Christopher Sagers, a Cleveland State University professor focusing on antitrust law, said the package represents a radical method of dealing with tech firms' growing power.
The bills "would make the platforms operate more like airlines or utility companies, that have to supply their services to anyone who would like them, rather than give anyone (or themselves) discriminatory advantages," Sagers said.
"These laws also could bring a finish for some products that are incredibly popular," he added. "I'm uncertain how Apple could continue even selling its mobile software, for instance, if iOS devices or the App Store were denominated 'covered platforms,' and there may be consequences for products like Amazon Prime, Google Maps, books digitized in the Google Books project, and who knows what else."
But Sagers said the impact might not be bad in the long run because "markets rearrange themselves and new competition turn up to displace them... Nonetheless it is to say these laws seem to be risky and I find their consequences hard to predict."
Other analysts offered stark warnings against unforeseen consequences of upending the massively successful companies which many consumers rely within their daily lives.
Iain Murray, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, said the measure might mean a company such as Apple would have to shut its App Store, ship "blank phones" with no apps, or spin off its phone division.
"Generally, the average consumer will see her user experience severely degraded," he said in a statement.
The legislation mirrors Europe's Digital Markets Act and will probably "distort" competition, according to Aurelien Portuese of the info Technology and Innovation Foundation, a think tank which often reflects the industry's views.
Portuese said the legislation comes amid a wave of resentment toward Big Tech but may eventually hurt consumers by allowing less efficient organizations to gain in the marketplace.
"Consumers may no more be able to benefit from large companies' economies of scale," Portuese said in a statement.
The legislative package "reveals a profound lack of practical understanding of the way the tech industry operates, and must operate, in order to remain competitive, relevant, profitable and innovative," said analyst Olivier Blanchard at Futurum Research in a blog page post.
"Do Big Tech companies hold too much power? You could argue that, sure.
"If the objective is to keep large, very powerful companies in balance, Congress could approach the challenge by establishing guardrails that protect consumers and competition without going for a wrecking ball to an entire system."
Source: japantoday.com
