Industry Groups Rail Against House Judiciary Antitrust Bills

Bipartisan legislation scheduled for House Judiciary Committee markup Wednesday would upend centuries of U.S. antitrust law and harm consumers, industry groups said this week. Antitrust Subcommittee ranking member Ken Buck, R-Colo., urged Republicans to come together and hold Big Tech accountable. Senate Antitrust Subcommittee ranking member Mike Lee, R-Utah, accused House progressives of taking advantage of conservatives’ “justified anger” against Silicon Valley.

House Antitrust Subcommittee members introduced five bipartisan bills earlier this month (see 2106110070) to address alleged market power abuse by Google, Facebook, Amazon, Apple and other companies the subcommittee targeted in an October report (see 2010060062).

The committee is moving unnecessarily fast and should postpone the markup, said Amazon Vice President-Public Policy Brian Huseman: “We are still analyzing the bills, but from what we can tell so far, we believe they would have significant negative effects on the hundreds of thousands of American small- and medium-sized businesses that sell in our store, and tens of millions of consumers who buy products from Amazon.”

The bills scheduled for markup would “overturn a century of U.S. antitrust law with dangerous consequences for America,” said U.S. Chamber of Commerce CEO Suzanne Clark. “Antitrust laws should not be rigged against a small number of companies.” The government shouldn’t be picking winners and losers and punishing success in a free market economy, she added.

The committee should postpone the markup to allow additional input from stakeholders about the bills’ impact on the economy, said Information Technology Industry Council CEO Jason Oxman: The bills “attempt to address complex issues that will have far-reaching implications on the U.S. economy and consumers. Yet, these bills are moving through the legislative process without an understanding of the possible unintended consequences.” CEO Gary Shapiro of CTA, where Oxman used to work, used a Media Institute speech to slam the bills (see 2106220049). Shapiro noted there was no hearing before the markup.

The bills “unreasonably target leading U.S. tech companies that have improved users’ experience with innovation, efficiency, and low-cost or free-to-the-user services,” said Computer & Communications Industry Association President Matt Schruers. “By singling out a handful of popular, consumer-centric businesses, these industrial policy bills are anti-consumer.”

Buck rallied for Republican support in a series of tweets Monday and Tuesday. He said his legislation would give consumers more control over data while urging Congress to “break up” Big Tech.

Progressives want to turn antitrust enforcement into a vehicle for progressive social policies, Lee said during a NetChoice livestream. Conservatives are justifiably angry about Big Tech censorship, but progressives are attempting to co-op them into supporting “deeply un-conservative solutions,” he said. Congress shouldn’t allow the government to micromanage markets to solve “very real” competition problems, he added, which would effectively replace a private monopoly with a public monopoly. The market can’t deliver competing alternatives if competition isn’t working, he said. Congress needs to restore the free market, he argued, seeking support for his Tougher Enforcement Against Monopolies (Team) Act, intended to strengthen antitrust laws by implementing market share-based merger presumptions, “improving” the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act and codifying the consumer welfare standard.

House Democrats didn’t properly scrutinize Microsoft during last year’s Big Tech investigation, and the company appears to be excluded from the legislation's impact, House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, wrote in a letter Monday to President Brad Smith. Jordan noted Microsoft acquired more than 200 companies in the past 30 years, and its $2 trillion market valuation is second “only to Apple” among U.S. companies. In the legislation, “covered platforms” might exclude Microsoft, which is biased against conservatives, Jordan wrote. He asked the company how and if the new bills would affect Microsoft. The company didn’t comment Tuesday. The proposals would benefit the top 1% of the app economy, said ACT|The App Association President Morgan Reed.

During the NetChoice livestream, American Action Forum Technology and Innovation Policy Director Jennifer Huddleston warned against legislative proposals that shift away from the consumer welfare standard and focus instead on the abuse of dominance. The antitrust debate is too preoccupied with size and market capitalization, when U.S. law has always focused on conduct, said Committee for Justice Public Policy Director Ashley Baker.