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Let’s talk about tech regulation: antitrust needs a hard(ware) update

When I think about the fundamental problems that technology poses to our society, my mind immediately thinks of ethical innovations. As mentioned in my previous columns in this series, the media is a big proponent of this. From classics like Frankenstein to modern TV dramas like Black Mirror, we are surrounded by a society that reminds us of the effects of technology going sour. But what about viewing technology from a business, economics, or financial perspective? The interleavings between technology innovation and technology business operations make antitrust a modern quintessence that needs to be subject to further regulation.

If you need a refresher on antitrust, here’s a crash course on how it works. The purpose of antitrust is to maintain market competition and prevent corporations from gaining too much market power. A classic example in which antitrust laws can be violated is through mergers and acquisitions, in which the merging companies or the acquiring company gains too much market power. Today, there are three main antitrust laws to protect market competition: The Sherman Act, the Federal Trade Commission Act, and the Clayton Act. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ensures that these antitrust laws are enforced. 

Antitrust legislation has been in use since the 1800s and has been effective in maintaining market competition. So why in recent years has antitrust legislation been a topic of conversation for regulating Big Tech? Just as technology has modernized every fabric of the 21st century, antitrust law is no different. 

Big Tech mergers and acquisitions have populated news headlines in recent years. Some examples include Amazon acquiring Whole Foods Market, Microsoft acquiring Skype, Facebook acquiring both Instagram and WhatsApp, the list goes on. What’s wrong with these acquisitions? In the case of Facebook, it performed horizontal acquisitions by acquiring companies that are also in the social media business, thus effectively reducing market competition for its own social media services. Many tech companies have followed suit and faced backlash from government organizations throughout the world. 

In recent months, Congress seems to have recognized the uptake in antitrust cases. Five new bills have been introduced by House lawmakers. The Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2021 “would update merger filing fees for the first time in 20 years.” The Ending Platform Monopolies Act, “stops dominant platforms from using their control in various overlapping fields to unfairly self-preference and disadvantage competitors.” The Platform Competition and Opportunity Act of 2021 “will reportedly end acquisitions of competitive threats by dominant platforms.” The American Choice and Innovation Online Act “will ban discriminatory conduct by ascendant platforms, including a prohibition on self-preferencing.” The ACCESS Act of 2021 will “foster competition online by ‘lowering barriers to entry and switching costs for businesses and consumers through interoperability and data portability requirements.’” (Hyperlinks to sources are in the website version of this article.)

In particular, these proposed bills will certainly help the government begin to better regulate antitrust. In particular, the Ending Platform Monopolies Act seems to target Amazon because it would force companies to either be a marketplace or a seller of goods, not both. This would prevent Amazon from selling some of their own products on their marketplace website. Lina Khan, the recently appointed chairwoman of the FTC examined this issue in her trailblazing paper, Amazon’s Antitrust Paradox. Khan was an advocate for a more stringent approach to antitrust laws for technology before it was cool, and her appointment shows the Biden Administration’s support towards tech regulation. For a regulation junkie like me, it’s exciting to see this shift in the antitrust landscape. 

But is this level of regulation enough? Perhaps it is, for now. 

I’m not one to give federal agencies a pass when it comes to commenting on things they can improve upon. But in this case, it seems as though Congress is making large strides. Antitrust is a substantial issue that requires a multidisciplinary approach, which I think Congress has been attempting to do. By introducing these five new bills, there are multiple issues that Congress is trying to tackle at once. This coupled with an FTC chairwoman with the guts to strike down Big Tech, antitrust legislation is moving in the right direction. As for the sustainability of this new approach, only time will tell. 

Technically Speaking is an Opinion culture column used to discuss topics relating to technology, such as pop culture, trends, social media, or other relevant subject matter.

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