Big Tech better watch out! A new bipartisan Senate bill aimed at restricting tech companies’ “anticompetitive” acquisition abilities is getting attention from policymakers and experts alike.
A new Senate bill, introduced by Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tom Cotton (R.A.), will severely restrict the power of Big Tech companies in acquiring other tech companies. The bill would break up the Big Tech monopoly. But it is not clear if government has the power to regulate the tech sector. Klobuchar has repeatedly called for more online censorship.
The “Platform Competition and Opportunity Act of 2021” was introduced by Sens. Klobuchar and Cotton. The bill’s described purpose is to “promote competition and economic opportunity in digital markets by establishing that certain acquisitions by dominant online platforms are unlawful.” Reclaim The Net described it as a “bill to curb Big Tech’s acquisition spree.” Facebook, for instance, bought competitor Instagram for $1 billion in 2012. Klobuchar’s press release called the Act a limitation of “acquisitions that harm competition and eliminate consumer choice.”
Klobuchar and Cotton both described the bill as increasing competition. “Under this bill, the largest tech monopolies will have the burden of proving that further acquisitions are lawful and good for the American people,” Cotton stated. “We’re increasingly seeing companies choose to buy their rivals rather than compete,” Klobuchar said. “This bipartisan legislation will put an end to those anticompetitive acquisitions by making it more difficult for dominant digital platforms to eliminate their competitors and enhance the platform’s market power.” Klobuchar has called multiple times for increased online censorship, however. She focused much of her ire particularly on alleged COVID-19 “vaccine misinformation.”
The new bill is not only a matter of high hope for senators. Jon Schweppe from American Principles Project’s Director of Policy & Government Affairs, an advocate for free speech, is reported to have expressed his support for the bill. “For years, American Principles Project has been urging Congress to do everything in its power to rein in the power of Big Tech,” Schweppe was quoted in Cotton’s press release. “This bill will make it more difficult for these Big Tech companies to engage in predatory mergers and acquisitions, which will help promote a free and fair market.”
Conservatives under attackTell your representatives to demand Big Tech is held accountable to the First Amendment and provide equal treatment for conservatives. If you have been censored, contact us using CensorTrack’s Use the contact formPlease help us make Big Tech more accountable.
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