Kennedy, Blumenthal Don’t See Antitrust Action as Privacy Solution

Data privacy issues can’t be fully addressed using antitrust tools, Sens. John Kennedy, R-La., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., told us separately. The Senate Judiciary Committee will discuss the intersection of antitrust and privacy policies Tuesday, with Google, Intel and Mapbox among those invited to testify (see 1903070072). Intel confirmed Friday that Global Privacy Director David Hoffman will testify.

Kennedy said antitrust enforcement “probably” can’t solve privacy issues, while Blumenthal suggested there should be some degree of antitrust application to privacy. Kennedy said he looks forward to hearing suggestions from witnesses on avoiding legislative overreach. Blumenthal hopes the hearing further “elucidates” the privacy debate.

Mapbox Policy Lead Tom Lee plans to discuss the company's "strong" privacy standards and support for federal legislation, a spokesperson said Friday. He will also cite pitfalls of other privacy measures, particularly the impact on business-to-business and smaller businesses.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., drew attention to her presidential campaign Friday, unveiling a plan to break up Google, Facebook and Amazon in hopes of enabling smaller competitors. Her proposal would unwind Facebook’s Instagram and WhatsApp acquisitions, Google’s DoubleClick, Nest and Waze purchases, and Amazon’s Whole Foods and Zappos buys. Warren’s plan includes legislation designating companies with an annual global revenue of $25 billion as “platform utilities.” Those utilities wouldn't be allowed to own participants on their platforms or transfer or share data with third parties.

Warren's proposal would harm consumers by reducing convenience, quality of service and innovation, and creating priced services, said Information Technology and Innovation Foundation President Rob Atkinson. Warren’s “unwarranted and extreme proposal, which focuses on a highly admired and highly performing sector, is misaligned with progressive values, many of which are shared within the tech industry,” said Computer & Communications Industry Association CEO Ed Black.

Legislation is needed to “enhance competition on digital platforms so that there is a real opportunity for new, innovative competitors to succeed,” Public Knowledge Competition Policy Counsel Charlotte Slaiman said, lauding Warren’s plan. Her proposal should be "a basic starting point for candidates from both parties, as well as Congress and the Administration,” New America's Open Markets Executive Director Barry Lynn said.

Antitrust decisions are “largely” out of Congress’ hands, Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., told us. “If you think about the way antitrust works, we basically hear the matters, but we don’t decide” enforcement, he said. “It just raises questions about mechanically, how that would work, since we really rely on the department or the agency to make determinations.”

A date hasn’t been set for staff to meet with Antitrust Division Chief Makan Delrahim or DOJ to discuss the ASCAP and BMI consent decrees (see 1902210036), Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told us. “I don’t know where they’re at. My guy was telling me about it. I haven’t really had a chance to get to it.” Graham said he wants to explore what the best solutions are if the consent decrees are eliminated: “I’d like to create stability as much as possible, but there comes a point in time when consent decrees can outlive their useful life, so we’ll see if we can strike that balance. I just don’t want chaos.”

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., is still developing privacy legislation (see 1901220030). The plan is to “mix and match” proposals based on his white paper and other ideas and offer a variety of bills, he told us. Transparency, privacy and identity validation are the “three big buckets,” he said, and bills will fall into each of those subsets.