Senate Judiciary Committee approves bill to block Big Tech

A 3 D printed Facebook logo is Meta in front of the displayed Google logo in this illustration taken on November 2, 2021. REUTERS Dado Ruvic Illustration

WASHINGTON, Jan 20 Reuters - The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill that would bar tech giants like Amazon.com from giving preference to their own businesses on their websites despite hefty lobbying from top executives like Apple CEO Tim Cook.

The biggest technology companies, including Meta Platforms Inc.'s Facebook FB.O and Apple Inc. AAPL.O, have been under pressure from Congress because of allegations that they abused their market power. A long list of bills aimed at reining them in but none have become law.

Legislators voted on an amended version of a bill introduced by Senators Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat, and Chuck Grassley, which expanded the definition of companies covered by the bill to include firms like the popular video app TikTok, and mandated that companies not be required to share data with firms that the U.S. government considers national security risks.

Senator Ted Cruz said during the hearing that he spoke with Cook on Wednesday, saying he expressed concerns about the bill. Cook, who voted for the measure, said Cook was concerned that the bill would make it harder for Apple to let consumers protect their privacy by changing apps that are not allowed to monitor or track their online activities.

After the vote, Klobuchar, chair of the panel's antitrust panel, said she had spoken with Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai.

I had discussions with them and I made my case and I listened to them. She said that she was open to changes but not to gutting the measure, because she said they are most likely never going to like this bill. We're not going to put a bill forward that does nothing. The Cowen Washington Research Group said that despite the committee's 16 -- 6 vote to approve the measure, enough of its supporters expressed reservations that it had less than a 50% chance of becoming law.

A second bill, which was held over, would bar big app stores, like Apple, from requiring app providers to use their payment system and banning apps that offer different prices through another app store or payment system, and prevent them from punishing apps that offer different prices through another app store or payment system.

Both bills have a version in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The legislation aimed at Big Tech caused a lot of opposition from powerful business groups.

Matt Schruers, the president of the Computer and Communications Industry Association, criticized the Klobuchar Grassley measure and predicted it would not pass the Senate. He said that antitrust policy should aim to promote consumer welfare and not punish specific companies.

Consumer Reports voted to repeal the Klobuchar Grassley bill to restore the power asymmetry between Big Tech, consumers and small businesses.