Senators Elizabeth Warren and Lindsey Graham announced their intention to introduce a groundbreaking bill aimed at establishing a new government regulator that would rein in the dominance of Meta Platforms’ Facebook, Google (owned by Alphabet), Amazon, and other influential players in the Big Tech industry. Despite previous attempts, Congress has struggled to pass bills that effectively curb the power of these companies, even as federal agencies engage in legal battles with Google and Facebook over alleged antitrust violations.
Aside from establishing the regulatory commission, the proposed legislation seeks to strengthen antitrust laws to prevent these companies from giving preferential treatment to their own products over competitors’ offerings. For instance, Amazon has faced accusations of favoring its own brands in search results on its platform. To address such issues, the commission would be endowed with the authority to halt specific acquisitions by these companies and even mandate divestitures in certain circumstances, according to a statement from Warren’s office.
Senator Elizabeth Warren emphasized the significance of the bipartisan bill, stating, “This legislation would not only create a new tech regulator, but it also underscores the crucial importance of reining in the power of Big Tech platforms, which is a top priority shared by members of both political parties.” Her sentiment was echoed by Senator Lindsey Graham, who sees the creation of the regulatory commission as “the first step in a long journey to safeguard American consumers from the enormous influence exerted by these companies.”
In addition to tightening regulations on Big Tech, the bill would ensure some privacy protections and restrict foreign ownership and access to data by adversaries from other nations. Similar to the Federal Trade Commission, the proposed Digital Consumer Protection Commission would consist of five commissioners, with no more than three representing the same political party.
Warren reaffirmed the bipartisan nature of the bill, stating once again, “This legislation would not only create a new tech regulator, but it also underscores the crucial importance of reining in the power of Big Tech platforms, which is a top priority shared by members of both political parties.” Graham also emphasized the need for the regulatory commission, describing it as “the first step in a long journey to protect American consumers from the enormous influence wielded by these companies.”
Amazon chose not to comment on the proposed legislation, while Facebook and Google did not respond to requests for their opinions on the matter.
Denial of responsibility! VigourTimes is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
