A bipartisan bill that would make it more difficult to complete Big Tech mergers has been introduced in the U.S. Senate. The office of Sen. Amy Klobuchar said she and Sen. Tom Cotton introduced the bill, Reuters reported Friday (Nov. 5).
The bill would allow the government to require companies to prove to a judge that the deals are good for competition, whereas traditionally it is up to the government to show that a deal is illegal, according to the report.
“We’re increasingly seeing companies choose to buy their rivals rather than compete,” Klobuchar said in a statement quoted in the report. “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.”
A similar bill has been approved in the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee and awaits a vote by the full House, the report stated.
In April, that committee approved a report that accuses companies like Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google of acting as monopolies.
Read more: US House Targets Big Tech Antitrust Practices
The report — the first such congressional review of the industry — became official April 15 after a 24-17 vote along party lines. The tech companies denied wrongdoing.
First issued in October 2020, the report argued for sweeping changes to antitrust law and detailed dozens of instances in which the companies allegedly abused their power.
“Amazon, Apple, Google and Facebook each hold monopoly power over significant sectors of our economy,” U.S. Rep. David Cicilline said in a statement at the time. “This monopoly moment must end. Now that the Judiciary Committee has formally adopted our findings, I look forward to crafting legislation that addresses the significant concerns we have raised.”
