DOJ Endorses Antitrust Law Targeting Big Tech

Proposed legislation that would reel in the power of big technology companies like Amazon, Apple, and Google got official support from the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday (March 29), citing a letter to the bipartisan leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee signed by Peter Hyun, the DOJ’s acting assistant attorney general for legislative affairs.

The Biden administration’s American Innovation and Choice Online Act would put an end to tech firms favoring their own products and services over their rivals. The letter from the Justice Department — which was obtained by the WSJ — supports the act as well as other bills moving through the House. In a bipartisan vote in January, the Senate’s judiciary panel passed the American Innovation and Choice Online Act. 

“The Department views the rise of dominant platforms as presenting a threat to open markets and competition, with risks for consumers, businesses, innovation, resiliency, global competitiveness and our democracy,” reads the letter signed by Hyun.

Related: FTC, DOJ Launch Consultation To Tighten Grip on Big Tech M&A 

Amazon, Alphabet’s Google, Apple and other tech firms have expressed that the proposed laws would make it difficult for them to continue offering services that are popular with consumers, according to the report. Companies opposed to the bills maintain that it’s fair that they profit from the popularity of their offerings.

The DOJ’s letter emphasizes that the dominant position afforded by big tech platforms gives them too much power over the success and failure of competing businesses. Reeling in those players would yield substantial benefits, per the report.

“Discriminatory conduct by dominant platforms can sap the rewards from other innovators and entrepreneurs, reducing the incentives for entrepreneurship and innovation,” according to the letter.

“Even more importantly, the legislation may support the growth of new tech businesses adjacent to the platforms, which may ultimately pose a critically needed competitive check to the covered platforms themselves.”