WASHINGTON: The US Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday approved a bill that would bar tech giants such as Amazon.com from giving preference to their own businesses on their websites, while top executives such as Apple CEO Tim Cook have been heavily criticized. Despite the lobbying.
The biggest technology companies, including Meta Platforms Inc.’s Facebook and Apple Inc., have been under pressure in Congress because of allegations they abused their external market power. A long list of bills are intended to rein in them, but none have become law.
Lawmakers voted on a revised version of a bill introduced by Senators Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat, and Chuck Grassley, a Republican, that expanded the definition of companies covered by the bill to include firms such as the popular video app TikTok. and specified that companies were not required to share data with firms that the US government considers national security risks.
Republican Senator Ted Cruz said during the hearing that he spoke with Cook on Wednesday, saying he “expressed significant concerns about the bill.”
Cruz, who voted for the measure, said that Cook expressed a “reasonable” concern that the bill would make it harder for Apple to allow consumers to protect their privacy, by choosing whether to allow apps to track their online activities. Monitoring or tracking is not allowed.
Klobuchar, chairman of the panel’s antitrust panel, took note of the deep-pocketed lobbying. “We don’t have a lot of money to run TV commercials in favor of those who oppose it, but we have a lot of support,” she said.
A second bill, which was put on hold, would bar large app stores such as Apple from requiring app providers to use their own payment systems and prevent them from penalizing apps that run through another app store or payment system. Offering different prices.
Both bills have a version in the US House of Representatives.
Legislation aimed at Big Tech has ignited opposition from powerful business groups.
Matt Schruers, president of the Computer and Communications Industry Association, criticized the Klobuchar/Grassley measure and predicted it would not pass the Senate. “Antitrust policy should aim to promote consumer welfare – not penalize specific companies,” he said in a statement.
Advocacy group Consumer Reports backed the Klobuchar/Grassley bill to “reset the power asymmetry between Big Tech, consumers and small businesses.”
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