House Lawmakers Release Anti-Monopoly Agenda for “A Stronger Online Economy: Opportunity, Innovation, Choice”
According to press release, the House Committee on the Judiciary’s Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman Cicilline (D-RI) and Ranking Member Buck (R-CO) announced their antitrust bi-partisan agenda outlined below:
“‘A Stronger Online Economy: Opportunity, Innovation, Choice’ consists of five bipartisan bills drafted by lawmakers on the Antitrust Subcommittee, which last year completed a 16-month investigation into the state of competition in the digital marketplace and the unregulated power wielded by Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google.”
The “American Innovation and Choice Online Act” to prohibit discriminatory conduct by dominant platforms, including a ban on self-preferencing and picking winners and losers online. The bill is sponsored by Chairman Cicilline and co-sponsored by U.S. Rep. Lance Gooden (TX-05).
The “Platform Competition and Opportunity Act” prohibits acquisitions of competitive threats by dominant platforms, as well as acquisitions that expand or entrench the market power of online platforms. The bill is sponsored by U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (NY-08) and co-sponsored by Ranking Member Buck.
The “Ending Platform Monopolies Act” eliminates the ability of dominant platforms to leverage their control over multiple business lines to self-preference and disadvantage competitors in ways that undermine free and fair competition. The bill is sponsored by U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) and co-sponsored by U.S. Rep. Lance Gooden (TX-05).
The “Augmenting Compatibility and Competition by Enabling Service Switching (ACCESS) Act” promotes competition online by lowering barriers to entry and switching costs for businesses and consumers through interoperability and data portability requirements. This bill is sponsored by U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05) and co-sponsored by U.S. Rep. Burgess Owens (UT-04).
The “Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act” updates filing fees for mergers for the first time in two decades to ensure that the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission have the resources they need to aggressively enforce the antitrust laws. This bill is sponsored by U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse (CO-02) and co-sponsored by U.S. Rep. Victoria Spartz (IN-05).
Lanton Law has been monitoring both Congress and the FTC for our technology and healthcare clients, especially as both Congress and the FTC have taken a more aggressive tone on antitrust issues lately.
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