Big Tech targets House, Senate in antitrust bill

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Big Tech targets House, Senate in antitrust bill

The House measure giving states greater power in competition cases and increasing the money for federal regulators is one of the goals of Big Tech companies.

The antitrust legislation focuses on the dominance of tech companies.

It was separate from more ambitious provisions cleared by key House and Senate committees that aimed at reining in Meta, Google, Amazon and Apple.

The companies have been lobbying against the proposals for months because of the languished proposals.

The bill will give states the upper hand over companies in choosing the locations of courts that decide federal antitrust cases.

Proponents say that 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 would increase filing fees paid by companies to federal agencies for proposed mergers worth $500 million or more, while reducing fees for small and medium-sized transactions.

The goal is to increase revenue for federal enforcement efforts.

Companies seeking approval for mergers would have to disclose subsidies they received from countries that are considered to pose strategic or economic risks to the United States - especially China.

The bill was endorsed by the Biden administration, which pushed for antitrust legislation targeting Big Tech.

The legislation drew fierce opposition from conservative Republicans who objected to the proposed revenue increase for the antitrust regulators, arguing that there has been brazen overreach by the FTC under President Biden.

Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif. described the FTC's leader, Lina Khan, as a radical leftist trying to replace consumers' decisions with her own. 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.

If Republicans win the House or Senate in November, they are certain to try to crimp the activism of the FTC and challenge its interpretation of its legal authority.