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US: Delrahim concerned about big tech allegations

By  |  September 30, 2018

The Department of Justice’s (DOJ) antitrust chief said Friday, September 28, he’s unsettled by allegations that the biggest US technology companies are suppressing conservative voices on their platforms.

Whether the bias claimed by Republicans—which companies from Facebook to Google and Twitter have denied—is harmful “depends on what kind of bias we are talking about,” Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim said at a Friday morning event organized by news outlet Axios. “I’m concerned about the concerns that have been raised.”

Delrahim confirmed that the agency has heard anecdotes about technology firms taking steps to block new entrants into the industry, though “I don’t know if any of the enforcement bodies necessarily have that credible evidence.”

There isn’t a question of whether some companies have significant market power, Delrahim noted, but whether “they are taking action that harms a new entrant’s ability.”

Full Content: The Washington Post

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