By Steve Lohr, The New York Times.
The largest American banks are classified as “systemically important” and subject to more stringent scrutiny. Some lawmakers want to do the same for Big Tech.
The Biden administration has made reining in big tech companies a priority. Perhaps the strongest signal was the government’s pick for the top antitrust enforcers: Jonathan Kanter, head of the antitrust division at the Justice Department, and Lina Khan, chair of the Federal Trade Commission.
Both are progressives who want to toughen enforcement and stretch antitrust doctrine. Under Ms. Khan, the F.T.C. has aggressively challenged acquisitions — a quick-strike tool in the antitrust arsenal to prevent the tech industry’s giants from getter bigger.
On Thursday, the agency filed suit to block Microsoft’s $69 billion purchase of video game maker Activision Blizzard, which would be the largest technology deal in decades. And on the same day, it deployed a novel argument to stop a relatively tiny acquisition by Meta, arguing in a California court that the $400 million deal by Facebook’s parent company would harm future competition in the emerging market for virtual reality apps.
Stopping a corporate purchase is one thing. But the larger agenda for the Biden administration’s antitrust enforcers involves major cases that accuse Big Tech of being bullying monopolists. Those cases involve long periods of document collection, deposition taking and courtroom wrangling.
Featured News
Judge Mehta Questions Both Sides in Landmark Google Antitrust Case
May 2, 2024 by
CPI
FCC Urges Urgent Funding for Removal of Chinese Telecom Equipment from U.S. Networks
May 2, 2024 by
CPI
Former Pioneer CEO Facing Potential Criminal Charges For Colluding With OPEC
May 2, 2024 by
CPI
South Korea’s Antitrust Regulator Greenlights K-Pop Powerhouse Deal
May 2, 2024 by
CPI
Exxon’s Pioneer Purchase Approved, Former CEO Barred from Board
May 2, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Economics of Criminal Antitrust
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
Navigating Economic Expert Work in Criminal Antitrust Litigation
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
The Increased Importance of Economics in Cartel Cases
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
A Law and Economics Analysis of the Antitrust Treatment of Physician Collective Price Agreements
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
Information Exchange In Criminal Antitrust Cases: How Economic Testimony Can Tip The Scales
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI