US antitrust chiefs voiced support for an American crackdown on gatekeeper tech giants a week after the European Union reached a deal reining in the likes of Google and Meta Platforms, reported Bloomberg.
Jonathan Kanter, the head of the Justice Department’s (DOJ) antitrust division, speaking during a conference in Brussels Thursday, said acquisitions of nascent rivals by larger players should be closely scrutinized because such deals over time risk weakening competition in the economy.
“The plain text of our merger laws in the United States demand that we have aggressive enforcement against acquisitions by firms that already possess a dominant position,” Kanter said.
Kanter is among a number of recent personnel choices who most observers have interpreted as signaling the Biden administration’s eagerness to regulate the tech industry, after the companies have flourished for years seemingly without limits or oversight.
The US has lagged Europe in creating a tougher environment for digital behemoths. Last week, the European Union agreed on a sweeping slate of rules on how tech giants can operate in the bloc known as the Digital Markets Act.
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Lina Khan called the law “a landmark proposal to promote fair access to markets controlled by digital gatekeepers.”
DOJ and FTC officials have recently worked on revamping the US’s decades-old Vertical and Horizontal Merger guidelines, in efforts to adjust the rules to the rapidly changing realities of modern digital economies.
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
Google and South Carolina Clash Over State Records Demand
May 8, 2024 by
CPI
Telefonica Germany Teams Up with Amazon Web Services to Migrate 5G Customers
May 8, 2024 by
CPI
Federal Judge Grants $7.4 Million Settlement in Pork Price-Fixing Case
May 8, 2024 by
CPI
Wilson Sonsini Bolsters Antitrust and Competition Practice with Key Partner Returns
May 8, 2024 by
CPI
EU to Scrutinize Telecom Italia’s Network Sale to KKR
May 8, 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