After a 16-month probe, House Democrats say Facebook, Amazon, Alphabet, and Apple enjoy “monopoly power” and suggest antitrust changes that could break them up

- After a 16-month investigation into competitive practices at Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google …

CNBC 2020-10-07 Lauren Feiner

Discussion

@benedictevans Benedict Evans on x
Reading the US anti-trust committee on ‘big tech’ antitrust. Lots that people in tech will argue about, but is there anyone at all that thinks startup creation has gone down in the last decade?! And this is based on one (1) study from... 2013. 🤔 https://twitter.com/...
@sally_hubbard Sally Hubbard on x
The House #BigTech report shows merger reform is an absolute must. 500 acquisitions by tech giants and not a single antitrust challenge. Yet the Clayton Act prohibits mergers that may lessen competition or tend to create a monopoly! https://twitter.com/...
@matthewstoller Matt Stoller on x
The threats Facebook and Google made to Australia after that country attempted to regulate them come up in the Cicilline Report on big tech. Apparently @davidcicilline is unhappy when big tech monopolies threaten sovereign nations.
@sherman4949 Alex Sherman on x
Maybe the most interesting recommendation from the antitrust subcommittee: “any acquisition by a dominant platform would be presumed anticompetitive unless the merging parties could show that the transaction was necessary for serving the public interest” https://www.cnbc.com/...
@shiraovide Shira Ovide on x
Agreeing with 75% of the pages counts as bipartisan in 2020, yes? https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@lutherlowe Luther Lowe on x
Quick glance at the House Antitrust Subcommittee report's substance. The number of pages dedicated to each company under “Dominant Online Platforms” Section: Facebook: 37 Apple: 43 Amazon: 68 Google: 71
@matthewstoller Matt Stoller on x
If the FTC can't bring an antitrust case against Facebook just lock the building and hand over the keys to the National Gallery across the street. At least if it were a museum it would offer the public some use. https://twitter.com/...
@shapshak Toby Shapshak on x
This is huge: US lawmakers said Facebook, Google, Apple and Amazon have turned from “scrappy” start-ups into “the kinds of monopolies we last saw in the era of oil barons and railroad tycoons.” via @NYTimes https://www.nytimes.com/...
@sarahfrier Sarah Frier on x
Huge: Here is the much-anticipated congressional report on tech antitrust, with recommendations for Facebook, Google, Amazon and Apple. https://t.co/cVyh9kxINi
@rollcall Roll Call on x
The report — 450 pages long, with more than 2,500 footnotes — and the recommendations constitute a stunning rebuke of Silicon Valley by Democratic antitrust hawks in the nation's capital. https://ow.ly/...
@pewresearch @pewresearch on x
47% of Americans said in our June survey that the government should be regulating major tech companies more than it is now, while 11% said these companies should be regulated less. About four-in-ten (39%) said regulation should stay at its current level. https://www.pewresearch.o…
@samaugustdean @samaugustdean on x
The wording here is key - the report specifically argues that “social networking” and “social media” are distinct markets, and that Facebook's claims to be competing with the entire internet (or even just YouTube) are bogus. https://twitter.com/...
@aripap Ari Paparo on x
Ad tech starts on page 129. Reading it now... https://twitter.com/...
@swodinsky Dead Cookies on x
why is “ad tech” only mentioned 15 times when it's literally the basis of both facebook and google's monopolies
@slpng_giants @slpng_giants on x
This is fucking great. Bring it. Bring all of it. https://twitter.com/...
@mattrosoff Matt Rosoff on x
The report recommends two possible forms of structural separation: divestiture and separate ownership (BREAKUP) or functional separation with organization details overseen by govt (LESS THAN BREAKUP). https://www.cnbc.com/...
@stroughtonsmith Steve Troughton-Smith on x
I think the way this is headed, sideloading, alternate app stores, and/or alternate payment processing methods on iOS are going to happen. There's just too much regulation pressure worldwide, and every single argument Apple has is completely undermined by the existence of macOS
@neilcybart Neil Cybart on x
Wait, did people actually think the House Judiciary subcommittee on antitrust was going to find Apple, Amazon, Facebook, and Google weren't anticompetitive? This has been the obvious outcome, however wrong the conclusions are, for some time.
@benthompson Ben Thompson on x
@pt @HalSinger It is actually going to be genuinely interesting to see to what extent said vitriol is driven by the perception that FB et al help Trump and to what extent it is about economic and/or status competition
@dee_bosa Deirdre Bosa on x
Some light reading tonight. 449 page House antitrust report on Big Tech is here. Amazon mentioned 1,861 times Google 1,966 Apple 1,285 Facebook 944 (!?) https://judiciary.house.gov/ ... cc @ltbatch
@evan_greer Evan Greer on x
Good. Now let's actually do something about it instead of wasting endless cycles on Tik Tok and bad takes on Section 230. https://twitter.com/...
@stevekovach Steve Kovach on x
Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google have all responded to the antitrust report. @lauren_feiner has everything here: https://www.cnbc.com/...
@jamarlinmartin Jamarlin Martin on x
Democrats have partnered w/ the “monopoly power” & have to fix their own mess, mostly out of CA. Eric Holder & Obama cashed out on compromising big tech regulations.They aren't the only ones.They “trade” at the top & squeeze the downside risks to the bottom."Figure it out later."…
@dee_bosa Deirdre Bosa on x
Some light reading tonight. 449 page House antitrust report on Big Tech is here. Amazon mentioned 1,861 times Google 1,966 Apple 1,285 Facebook 944 (!?) https://judiciary.house.gov/ ... cc @ltbatch
@ksabeelrahman K. Sabeel Rahman on x
We can't dismantle deep economic and racial inequities without a policy agenda on corporate power. This subcommittee report is a big deal, includes major structural proposals to tackle concentrated private control by big tech over markets, data, and our public sphere. https://twi…
@s8mb Sam Bowman on x
Of course you can object to Facebook/Instagram being cleared. But *once it had been cleared*, objecting to a business running itself as “an internal monopoly” and directing different products to target different customer groups really seems misguided on a fundamental level.
@jcenters Josh Centers on x
It's interesting that the congressional report claims that the App Store has raised software prices. Don't developers usually complain that it's devalued apps? https://www.cnbc.com/...
@knowledgehubty Owl Edge Hub on x
So investigations are finally coming to fruition. The actually extent and/or changes coming could be big, or could be nothing https://www.cnbc.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@halsinger Hal Singer on x
@benthompson An interesting question, but not the relevant question for an antitrust inquiry. The definition of market power is the ability to profitably raise prices over competitive levels (or lower prices for a buyer) or exclude rivals. Prove that directly and u don't need 2 c…
@stroughtonsmith Steve Troughton-Smith on x
I think developers will still overwhelmingly choose the App Store to sell their apps — but Apple is going to have to start competing fairly for those developers, or they will just lose the best ones like they did with the Mac App Store, a monumental failing of Apple's last decade
@thekenyeung Ken Yeung on x
What monopoly do each Big Tech company hold? Apple: distribution of software apps on iOS devices Google: online search Amazon: most third-party sellers and many suppliers Facebook: online advertising and social networking https://www.cnbc.com/...
@daniarajendra Dania Rajendra on x
Everything in this report about the acquisition and integration of Ring by Amazon is horrible. 1/x
@moomanibe Aura on x
god can you imagine if some of this stuff actually went thru, tech's standard way of operating would flip onto its back overnight https://www.cnbc.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@maxkennerly Max Kennerly on x
Apparently this report makes a persuasive case for aggressive action against Facebook. I haven't read the report, but I suspect it's quite powerful because... https://twitter.com/...
@zlingray @zlingray on x
if they're serious, which they are certainly not, you will see an assault on the american system of electoral politics that makes the gop look like the founding fucking fathers https://twitter.com/...
@stroughtonsmith Steve Troughton-Smith on x
TL;DR on the House antitrust report on Apple (and I've only read the Apple section and conclusion) is that there's more than enough evidence, and they just need to figure out the correct punishment. Mentioned: splitting App Store into separate company, blocking acquisitions
@mikeisaac Rat King on x
v interesting truth nugs in this 400-page House report, like this IG employee quote: “It was collusion, but within an internal monopoly. If you own two social media utilities, they should not be allowed to shore each other up. It's unclear to me why this should not be illegal.”
@moonalice Roger McNamee on x
FB revenue chief says iOS changes threaten its business model. He wants us to believe that is a problem, but to me, it sounds like good news. https://www.cnbc.com/...
@megancgraham Meg Graham on x
Facebook's CRO David Fischer at #AW2020 Tuesday: “To me, the changes that Apple has proposed, pretty sweeping changes, are going to hurt developers and businesses the most.” https://www.cnbc.com/...
@jyarow Jay Yarow on x
Facebook trying get Apple in trouble with regulators. https://www.cnbc.com/...
Vox Shirin Ghaffary on x
The Big Tech antitrust report has one big conclusion: Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google are anti-competitive
@benedictevans Benedict Evans on x
I am amused that someone on the committee's staff read my discussion of Amazon's market share and decided to ignore my observation that Amazon does, in fact, compete with physical retailers. https://www.ben-evans.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@dee_bosa Deirdre Bosa on x
“Fringe notions” Amazon's response 👇 https://twitter.com/...
@cfarivar Cyrus Farivar on x
Amazon says the new @HouseJudiciary antitrust report contains “fringe notions on antitrust.” https://blog.aboutamazon.com/ ...
@stroughtonsmith Steve Troughton-Smith on x
What does competing mean for the Mac App Store? Apple's %, sure, but also upgrade pricing, sandbox exceptions, bundle & suite options, even TestFlight. Doing everything in Apple's power, fairly, to offer all the most important apps on the platform, to improve the user experience
@jason @jason on x
Apple should get ahead of this and make the App Store free for the first $100,000 a year in sales & then 20% after that. Would be amazing good will on @tim_cook's part to make the rake lower & incentivize more take home pay for small app builders https://twitter.com/...
@jeffjohnroberts Jeff Roberts on x
Antitrust report is out. Number of times companies are cited: Google: 1,966 Amazon: 1861 Apple: 1285 Facebook: 944 https://judiciary.house.gov/ ... https://twitter.com/...
@tomwarren Tom Warren on x
Apple is labeled a monopoly in the US tech antitrust report, and that it uses “privacy as a sword to exclude rivals and a shield to insulate itself from charges of anticompetitive conduct.” Ouch. https://twitter.com/...
@jason_kint Jason Kint on x
Bam, there it is. After more than a year of bipartisan investigations of Google, Facebook (plus Apple and Amazon), the U.S. House antitrust report just dropped. Time to go into deep-read mode. Tweets likely comin'. cc @dcnorg https://judiciary.house.gov/ ... https://twitter.com/.…
@alecstapp @alecstapp on x
This paragraph highlights an unavoidable tension. The report admits that Apple's closed ecosystem has produced significant benefits to app developers and consumers. But the flip side of that closed ecosystem is that some players feel excluded (or can't do what they want). https:/…
@futterish Mike Futter on x
This is massive for Epic. https://twitter.com/...
@stroughtonsmith Steve Troughton-Smith on x
I wrote this in 2016 about the Mac App Store, and very little has changed since. Apple did the bare minimum but it was enough to get majority user share, so Apple has never bothered to compete, and users and developers suffer as a result https://twitter.com/...
@hoeglaw Richard Hoeg on x
Most notably in respect of Apple, vast weight is given to arguments made by various members of the “Coalition for App Fairness”, including that Apple's 30% is too expensive, and that they are illegally restricting access to their own hardware.
@realdonaldtrump Donald J. Trump on x
REPEAL SECTION 230!!!
@willoremus Will Oremus on x
Looks like the Trumpers on the House antitrust subcommittee have chosen sides, and they're on the side of protecting Big Tech. If true, that would turn tech regulation into just another partisan issue that Congress is incapable of addressing. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@halsinger Hal Singer on x
On the whole, Buck's report embraces many of Dems' proposal and is thus a good thing. So this NYT article is a bit too pessimistic. Jordon is crank—who cares what he thinks. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@lam_barrett Lindsey Barrett on x
republicans decided they liked yelling at tech cos, but they've always been existentially allergic to real restraints on corporate power. “animus” is a fair characterization, but it still means that their lack of interest in pursuing meaningful remedies isn't surprising. https://…
@repjayapal Rep. Pramila Jayapal on x
After conducting America's first major congressional antitrust investigation in decades, I can say conclusively that self-regulation by Big Tech comes at the direct expense of our communities, small businesses, consumers, the free press, and innovation. https://twitter.com/...
@rhhackett Robert Hackett on x
it is astounding this is not already law https://www.reuters.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@travon Travon Free on x
Then repeal 230. https://twitter.com/...
@nytpolitics @nytpolitics on x
Partisan bickering in Congress has cast a cloud over a landmark House report, which caps a 15-month investigation into the practices of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google. The report was to feature recommendations from lawmakers to rein in the companies. https://www.nytimes.com/.…
@mmasnick Mike Masnick on x
Things I did not have on my tech policy bingo card this week: The Mountain Goats coming out in favor of #Section230. https://twitter.com/...
@tedlieu Ted Lieu on x
Section 230 in federal law protects your right to free speech on the internet. It's what allows you to criticize @realDonaldTrump or me or the Cleveland @Browns without fear that the post will be taken down. For example: @POTUS is a jerk for suing to rip your healthcare away. htt…
@sfmnemonic Mike Godwin on x
This Times is playing this as if it reflects a recent development, but the incoherence of the spectrum of theories informing the moral panic about Big Tech has been broadly evident for quite some time. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@sfmnemonic Mike Godwin on x
(It turns out you have to have a coherent theory to reform Big Tech.) Big Tech Was Their Enemy, Until Partisanship Fractured the Battle Plans https://www.nytimes.com/...
@zck Zak Kukoff on x
If we destroy the modern basis of anti-trust law — which, make no doubt, is what today's House report wants to do — we'll be setting back America's ability to compete by decades (And it won't be European tech that replaces FAANG) https://twitter.com/...
@nytimestech @nytimestech on x
House lawmakers were once united against the power of the biggest tech companies. But their bipartisan support has now split along party lines. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@matthewstoller Matt Stoller on x
1. I'm reading Republican @RepKenBuck's leaked views on the big tech antitrust hearing, and it's quite a remarkable document. First, the Chicago School has lost the argument. Buck endorses the the fact there's a monopoly crisis. “Apple, Amazon, Google, and Facebook have used...
@amywebb Amy Webb on x
I'm not at all surprised by this. There was never going to be bipartisan alignment. Dems and Republicans were never aligned to begin with on the business of tech. There was never a cohesive long-term plan or vision in DC, and there still isn't. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@karlbode Karl Bode on x
mmm yes what if I told you Trump GOP concerns about monopolization are utterly hollow (see: big telecom) and this entire tantrum is about protecting power by ensuring online political disinformation isn't adequately policed https://www.nytimes.com/...
@samanthaladuc Samantha LaDuc on x
Lots of recommendations. Very little follow through. #BigTechBreakUp https://twitter.com/...
@reutersbiz @reutersbiz on x
The House antitrust report on Big Tech firms contains a ‘thinly veiled call to break up’ the companies, Republican Congressman Ken Buck said in a draft response seen by Reuters https://www.reuters.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@adrjeffries Spooky Emojo on x
I've been sort of waiting for this. The “bipartisan” techlash in the House never really felt bipartisan. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@jason_kint Jason Kint on x
Weird report IMHO. Way too negative about an investigation that has been largely bipartisan. Facebook and Google would love to drive partisan division through the process but the fact we haven't yet seen a report that press expected yesterday is NBD. https://www.nytimes.com/...

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After a 16-month probe, House Democrats say Facebook, Amazon, Alphabet, and Apple enjoy “monopoly power” and suggest antitrust changes that could break them up

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