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Op-Ed: Antitrust Hawks Spot New Prey Through Covid-19 Eyes

By  |  June 1, 2020

By Peter Nesvold (CNBC)

As reports heighten about a potential Uber and GrubHub merger,
four members of the U.S. Senate are calling on both the Department of Justice
and the Federal Trade Commission to gear up for a vigorous antitrust
investigation into the potential combination of two of the three largest food
delivery services in the United States.

In a letter dated May 20 to the FTC, the senators implored that it
is “particularly troubling” that this merger is “being contemplated during a
pandemic.”

The antitrust hawks have clearly been circling Big Tech for some. Heck, executives from Amazon, Facebook, and Google might as well rent second apartments in Georgetown given how often they frequent the Capitol. However, a new theme is emerging from the cacophony of would-be antitrust enforcement agents: advancing old agendas under the guise of a new pandemic.

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