Internal documents show Facebook and Google discussing platform strategies

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Three of Big Tech's most prominent companies favored their own products as a way to stamp out competition. Lawmakers are pushing for antitrust legislation to be approved by the end of the year.

The documents were obtained by the House Judiciary Committee as part of its lengthy investigation into anticompetitive behavior. Newly published emails, memos, and reports support the committee's calls for tougher competition rules for the tech industry.

The chairman of the antitrust subcommittee said that it was time for Congress to act.

The documents show how Amazon and Google pressured independent sellers to support their own products and platforms over those of their competitors. A potential new service that could compete with the company's "core search experience" was raised in an email by an executive. In email chains dating back to 2009, Amazon executives are shown debating whether to restrict a competitor's ability to advertise on their site House investigators claim that Amazon secured its market dominance by acquiring Diapers.com.

The market for personal voice assistants changed as a result of Amazon being involved. The email states that Amazon has changed the dynamics. If you don't support it, Amazon will pull you from their store.

There is a long-discussed Facebook memo called "Possible End States for the Family of apps." The memo was first reported by The Information in the year 2019. The memo was written in order to explain how the company could not overtake Facebook.

The memo says thatWhatsApp and Facebook are both broadcasting sharing apps. It appears unlikely that three sharing apps can coexist.

The committee's final report describes the findings of its investigation and legislative solutions to the competition concerns they found. The lack of competition in the tech industry has led to worse online products. It may be more difficult for Democrats to push through antitrust reform this year due to the fact that no Republicans signed the report's recommendations.

Carl Szabo, vice president and general counsel for the tech industry group NetChoice, said in a Tuesday statement that radical antitrust legislation would leave Americans worse off. Its reach would encompass consumers of every business in every state.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has been pressured to support bills banning tech platforms from favoring their own products. The American Innovation and Choice Online Act was urged to be passed by the Senate last week.

There is no question that the tech giants have become too big to care and too powerful to ever put people over profits.