US: GOP lawmakers divided on House antitrust tech probe

Republicans are split over a new Democrat-led antitrust investigation of the tech industry, highlighting tensions between the GOP’s growing criticism of companies like Google and Facebook and the party’s traditional aversion to regulating business, reported Politico.

The House Judiciary Committee launched the probe Monday, June 3, to look at whether Silicon Valley’s tech titans have engaged in anti-competitive conduct and some Republican lawmakers were quick to cheer their Democratic colleagues on.

“I’m all for it,” Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham (Republican – South Carolina) said of the House probe, while fellow Senate Judiciary member John Neely Kennedy (Republican – Louisiana) told reporters that it’s about time for Congress to examine how the online industry’s growing power affects consumers.

“Antitrust is a highly technical inquiry, not something that lends itself to easy generalizations or blanket condemnations,” said a statement from Utah Sen. Mike Lee, who chairs the Senate Judiciary antitrust panel that would be in a prime position to oversee a probe. “This is why such investigations are best left to the antitrust agencies rather than Congress.”

Sen. Josh Hawley (Republican – Montana), a leading critic of the tech industry, agreed that federal regulators would be “more effective” than Congress in policing the issue. He suggested that lawmakers should instead focus on issues like protecting consumers’ data privacy.