The later Klobuchar-Cotton acquisition bill shows that merger rules remained a continuing legislative focus, while the House committee's approval of acquisition-related measures put parallel pressure on the policy debate.
First-order effects
Technology companies pursuing acquisitions would face a proposed higher bar for getting deals through antitrust review; Klobuchar's Senate subcommittee agenda becomes more directly focused on mergers.
Klobuchar gains a concrete legislative vehicle for translating her stated preference for stronger antitrust remedies into acquisition policy.
Second-order effects
Large technology acquirers would need to make a stronger competitive case for proposed deals, increasing the policy risk around buying potential competitors.
The proposal gives House antitrust efforts a Senate counterpart, making acquisition restrictions a more central point of overlap between the two chambers' Big Tech agendas.
Third-order effects
If Congress adopts the burden-shifting approach later reflected in the Klobuchar-Cotton proposal, technology mergers would move toward a regime in which dominant buyers must affirmatively establish that transactions are not anticompetitive.
The broader trajectory is from investigations of individual platforms toward rules designed to constrain how major technology companies expand through acquisitions.
The trend: US tech antitrust policy is shifting from investigations and case-by-case enforcement toward legislation that places tougher presumptions on acquisitions by major platforms.
I'm looking forward to being the top Republican in the House for the Antitrust Subcommittee. It's time to address the anticompetitive behavior of Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Apple. Let's get to work. https://twitter.com/...
@amyklobuchar's antitrust proposal significantly increases DoJ and FTC funding. “You cannot take on trillion-dollar companies, the biggest companies the world has ever seen, with just Band-Aids and duct tape,” Ms. Klobuchar said. cc: @Kantrowitz https://www.wsj.com/...
The Senate should take up my amendment for a vote today to ban Amazon, Google and the other mega tech companies from engaging in mergers or acquisitions. We have seen their predatory practices and abuse of power. It's time for this to end.
Oof. I just saw a press release that came out from Klobuchar's office about who has “endorsed” the antitrust package. It trumpets Carl Shapiro who consults for Google, and Fiona Scott Morton, who consults for Apple and Amazon. Not who you want endorsing your bill.
The Sleeper Issue: civil penalties may make sense when a firm violates a rule or did something (eg price-fixing) they *knew* was illegal But in most cases, the Rule of Reason weighs costs/benefits. Penalties would be unfair & this could actually *reduce* enforcement https://twitt…
Initial take on @amyklobuchar antitrust bill: A neo-Brandeisian marker/message bill, wisely strengthens enforcement agencies; would deter innovations that benefit consumers and disrupt incumbents & create a deliberately squishy merger challenge standard 1/ https://twitter.com/...
Biggest problem: “barring conduct that puts competitors at a disadvantage.” This standard would have left us with no Model T, no iPhone, no Zoom, no Uber, no Airbnb. Consumers would lose but incumbents happy and lazy. 4/ https://www.axios.com/...
“It's not just sitting there and pulling constant hearings where we're yelling at executives and throwing popcorn at them,” @amyklobuchar tells @Cat_Zakrzewski about tech titan antitrust. “We have to pass something.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
The Biden administration is expected to bring fresh energy to antitrust enforcement, Sen. Amy Klobuchar said, advocating for the breakup of Big Tech platforms as well as rules that would make merging parties work harder to prove their case. https://www.law360.com/...
NEW: Set to assume control of the Senate antitrust subcommittee, Amy Klobuchar wants new laws and more funding to help DOJ and the FTC counter the market dominance of Big Tech companies. https://www.rollcall.com/...
A bill from @amyklobuchar would make it harder for firms with substantial market power to acquire smaller companies and forbid mergers that present an “appreciable risk of harming competition.” https://www.protocol.com/...
The kind of power Sen. Klobuchar seeks to give the government here is troubling. Shifting the burden of proof away from the government and onto the companies seeking to do as they wish is chilling. @Protectaxpayers will vehemently oppose. https://www.axios.com/...
“You cannot take on trillion-dollar companies, the biggest companies the world has ever seen, with just Band-Aids and duct tape”, damn straight, @amyklobuchar ✊ https://www.wsj.com/...