House passes antitrust bill targeting Big Tech
The legislation covers where antitrust cases are heard as well as adjusts the cost of filing fees depending on the size of mergers
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Big Tech companies are the target of a House measure giving states greater power in competition cases and increasing money for federal regulators.
The antitrust legislation focuses on the dominance of tech companies.
The bipartisan measure passed by a 242-184 vote Thursday.
It was separated from more ambitious provisions cleared by key House and Senate committees aimed at reining in Meta, Google, Amazon and Apple.
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The U.S. Capitol is shown with tech company logos. ( (Photo by Stefan Zaklin/Getty Images) / Getty Images)
Those proposals have languished for months, giving the companies time for vigorous lobbying campaigns against them.
The bill would give states an upper hand over companies in choosing the location of courts that decide federal antitrust cases.
Proponents say this change would avert the "home-court advantage" that Big Tech companies enjoy in federal court in Northern California, where many of the cases are tried and many of the companies are based.
The bill also would increase filing fees paid by companies to federal agencies for all proposed mergers worth $500 million or more, while reducing the fees for small and medium-sized transactions.
Company logo outside of an Apple store. (REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo / Reuters Photos)
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The aim is to increase revenue for federal enforcement efforts.
Under the bill, companies seeking approval for mergers would have to disclose subsidies they received from countries deemed to pose strategic or economic risks to the United States — especially China.
The Biden administration, which has pushed for antitrust legislation targeting Big Tech, endorsed the bill this week.
A Google sign is shown on the campus in Mountain View, Calif. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu / AP Newsroom)
The legislation drew fierce opposition from conservative Republicans, who objected to the proposed revenue increase for the antitrust regulators, arguing there has been brazen overreach by the FTC under President Biden.
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Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., described the FTC's leader, Lina Khan, as a "a radical leftist seeking to replace consumers' decisions with her own."
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAPL | APPLE INC. | 239.59 | +2.26 | +0.95% |
| GOOGL | ALPHABET INC. | 171.49 | +2.54 | +1.50% |
| META | META PLATFORMS INC. | 592.83 | +18.51 | +3.22% |
| AMZN | AMAZON.COM INC. | 210.71 | +2.82 | +1.36% |
Another California Republican, Rep. Darrell Issa, told his colleagues, "If you want to stifle innovation, vote for this."
In the Senate, Minnesota Democrat Amy Klobuchar is sponsoring similar legislation with Republicans Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Mike Lee of Utah.
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If Republicans win control of the House or Senate in the November elections, they are certain to try to crimp the activism of the FTC and to challenge its broader interpretation of its legal authority.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.