Six antitrust bills are currently being considered by Congress. They were all introduced earlier in the month. This is a moment of bipartisan suspicion toward major technology companies. This legislative effort is the product of a 16-month-long investigation by the House antitrust committee into anticompetitive practices within the industry. The House Judiciary Committee approved six bills last week, despite protests from major corporations and industry groups. It suddenly seems easier to break up Big Tech.AdvertisementThere are still some steps to be taken before the antitrust bills can reach President Joe Biden's desk. It is not clear whether the package enjoys the same level of bipartisan support as it does in the House. The House Judiciary Committee will likely continue to work on the legislation before it is presented to the whole body.AdvertisementAdvertisementMany of these bills have fractured partisan lines and confused the usual alliances. Democrats have lashed out at Big Tech for allowing hate speech and misinformation to thrive on their platforms. Republicans, however, have accused these companies of suppressing conservative speech while generally ignoring all the rest. Both parties had reservations about the bills. Three Democratic representatives from CaliforniaEric Swlwell, Lou Correa and Zoe Lofgren opposed five of six bills and joined Republicans in publishing a statement saying that the legislation leaves many questions unanswered about its scope and harms American consumers. Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan also complained that the legislation didn't address anti-conservative bias allegations and warned that it would give tech companies more power. In a Fox News op ed, he said that these Democrat bills would only make matters worse. He was referring to Donald Trump's former chief of staff Mark Meadows. Big Tech is bad right now. Just wait until Apple, Amazon and Facebook collaborate with Big Government.AdvertisementAdvertisementThese bills are very different in terms of their reach and Big Tech seems more concerned about some than others. According to The Wall Street Journal, lobbyists and trade organizations have tried to slow down the legislative process in order to have more time to convince lawmakers to reject the bills. The Chamber of Progress, a trade organization funded by Amazon, Google and Facebook, has been an outspoken opponent to the package. It recently circulated a survey that showed that Americans don't think this type of legislation is of high priority to Congress. Some companies are considering launching public campaigns against this package. Officials from Amazon and Google say such laws would hurt small businesses most. Apple, however, has publicly stated that some of the legislation could expose users to security breaches. Apple CEO Tim Cook reportedly called Nancy Pelosi, the House Speaker, to express his disappointment.AdvertisementHere's a rough ranking of bills based on how many panic attacks they are causing in Mountain View and Cupertino as well as Menlo Park and Seattle.The Industry isn't WatchfulAdvertisementH.R. 3843 and H.R. 3843 and H.R. The former would increase filing fees for mergers while the latter would allow state attorneys general to choose which courts hear antitrust cases. What fees? What about lawyer stuff? Silicon Valley can handle it.The Industry is awash with itH.R. 3826 is one of the most significant bills. 3826 would prohibit tech platforms from buying rivals. This is a key part of Facebook's strategy to expand its reach and consolidate its power. Two of its most successful acquisitions were Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp 2014. Companies would be required to show that the acquisition won't harm competition by this law. In December, the Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit seeking to force Facebook's two subsidiaries to be spun off. This legislation could also prevent similar deals in the future. H.R. 3849 is another potentially important bill. H.R. 3849, which would make data transfer between services easier for users, was the subject of one of the longest debates in the markup sessions. This is similar to the regulations that require wireless companies to allow people to keep the same number even if they switch services. Rep. Lofgren from San Jose, Silicon Valley's largest population center, expressed grave concerns about the potential exposure of private information by the legislation.AdvertisementAdvertisementThe Industry has melted into a pool of sweat that is also somehow expandingH.R. H.R. 3816, which would ban companies from giving their products and services unfair advantage on their platforms, as well as H.R. 3825, which gives regulators greater power to end monopolies. H.R. H.R. 3816, if passed, could force Apple to take additional steps to ensure Apple Music doesn't outsell Spotify on the iPhone or in the App Store. This could also impact Amazon, which sells its products on its marketplace. It has been accused of using data from other companies to inform its strategy for its private label. Amazon claims that it has laws against such practices. This bill is particularly troubling to the Chamber of Progress, which claims that it will force YouTube to host Pornhub videos. Facebook would also be forced to show Alex Jones conspiracy theories regarding Sandy Hook. However, it is unclear if such a law will have any impact on content moderation.AdvertisementH.R. H.R. 3825, also known as the Monopoly Act, allows regulators to sue tech companies to end their operations if there is an irreconcilable conflicts of interest in selling their products or services. This legislation could be used to target Google, which lists videos in search engine results and also runs its subsidiary YouTube, which is the largest hub for online video. This law could put Amazon and Apple under additional scrutiny for their promotion of their products on their platforms. The bill was passed by the narrowest margin of 21 to 20. The bill passed with the narrowest margin, 21 to 20. Lofgren was vocal in her criticism of the legislation. Lofgren was sceptical about the notion that Facebook and Google are too powerful. She told the Washington Post that the monopoly legislation would literally take a grenade, roll it into the tech industry, and then blow it up and see what happens.Future Tense is a collaboration between Slate, New America and Arizona State University. It examines emerging technologies and public policy.
