US: Dems ask for details on antitrust probes into Big Tech

Seven US Senate Democrats asked the Trump administration on Friday, June 21, to disclose details of possible Federal Trade Commission and Justice Department antitrust investigations into Amazon.com, Facebook, Alphabet, and Apple.

The senators, led by Senator Amy Klobuchar, a presidential candidate, wrote in the letters to FTC Chairman Joe Simons and Justice Department antitrust chief Makan Delrahim that “given the silence of the FTC and the Justice Department, the truth is that we still do not know if these investigations have actually been initiated and neither do the American people.”

The letters were also signed by Patrick Leahy, Richard Blumenthal, Tammy Baldwin, Edward Markey, Tina Smith, and Cory Booker, who said they were encouraged by the media reports of investigations, “but also somewhat troubled that such inquiries were not already well underway.”

The senators noted that both agencies typically refrain from commenting on investigations that are not public, “but these circumstances are far from typical. The significant public interest in and allegations surrounding the business conduct of Big Tech and the leaks concerning the clearance process relating to potential investigations of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google have made these matters highly unusual.”