Long-Awaited House Report Recommends Breaking Up Big Tech

Topline

As Washington continues to scrutinize Big Tech, the House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee on Tuesday released a long-awaited investigation into Amazon, Apple, Google and Facebook, recommending that Congress take aggressive action and pursue breaking up “certain dominant platforms.”

Key Facts

Crucial Quote

“As demonstrated during a series of hearings held by the Subcommittee and as detailed in this Report, the online platforms’ dominance carries significant costs. It has diminished consumer choice, eroded innovation and entrepreneurship in the U.S. economy, weakened the vibrancy of the free and diverse press, and undermined Americans’ privacy,” the report says.

Chief Critics

Facebook, Google and Apple did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Forbes.

Amazon, though, published a blog post saying “fringe notions on antitrust would destroy small businesses and hurt consumers.” The company especially took issue with the notion that it shouldn’t be allowed to sell its own Amazon-branded products alongside third-party sellers. “What these misguided notions from some subcommittee staff misunderstand is the fact that third parties having the opportunity to sell right alongside a retailer’s products is the very competition that most benefits consumers and has made the marketplace model so successful for third-party sellers,” the post reads.