WASHINGTON - US lawmakers debated into the early hours Thursday over details of legislation aimed at curbing the power of Big Tech firms with a sweeping reform of antitrust laws.
"Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google are gatekeepers to the online economy," Cicilline said during the hearing. Members of the committee went on to green-light a bill that would require Big Tech firms to prove an acquisition or merger would not crimp competition."This legislation is not a merger ban," Cicilline said.The bill came under fire by members of Congress who felt it unjust to apply a presumption of guilt when it comes to mergers.
Clash points included whether it is right to target laws at four big tech companies and whether government agencies will hobble them instead of letting them adapt to the competition."Big Tech is certainly not perfect. This bill is not the way to fix the problem." Steve Chabot, another Republican, called the initiative "an effort for big government to take over Big Tech."Tech firms and others warned of negative consequences for popular services people rely on, potentially forcing Apple to remove its messaging apps from the iPhone or Google to stop displaying results from YouTube or Maps.