The House of Representatives on Thursday approved a package of antitrust laws aimed at improving the ability of antitrust authorities to crack down on powerful tech companies in a bipartisan vote by a vote of 242 to 184.
Thirty-nine Republicans voted in favor of the law, along with a majority of Democrats.
Sixteen Democrats broke with their party to oppose a bill that would collectively reshape merger fees to make them tougher on larger deals, let prosecutors decide where they stand when enforcing antitrust laws, and the filing process use of mergers. require the parties to disclose them. Subsidies they receive from countries that pose a risk to the United States
It is the first major antitrust reform package passed in the House of Representatives as part of a three-year process that began with the House Judiciary Committee's investigation into the market power of Google, Amazon, Apple and Facebook, now called parent company Meta. .
The House Judiciary Committee tabled four more proposals last year aimed at reforming antitrust laws in a way that proponents say are better suited to modern industrial giants. Suggestions are made based on the recommendations of the final investigation report.
But a shrinking legislative calendar could hurt their ability to finalize proposals, especially if Republicans win a majority in the House of Representatives in November.
Member with the rank of Member of the Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) is one of the most vocal critics of the antitrust package, meaning the antitrust bill likely won't make it to the next Congress if Jordan takes control of the committee.
Despite support from some Republicans, Jordan condemned the effort as partisan and said he would give Attorney General Merrick Garland and the Justice Department more money to "harass" the American people.
"If you want to do something with the big tech companies, it's not the car," Jordan said.
new \ back Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) urged colleagues to vote against the bill. He said his objection mainly relates to the part of the package that allows prosecutors to choose the location of antitrust enforcement actions. He said the changes would help the attorney general bring lawsuits against the company for content moderation.
“We saw in the January 6 commission that many material lies are being spread that incite violence, and this content should be changed. They should not be the target of false attempts by government agencies to prevent content moderation through antitrust rules,” he said.
"I mean, the Attorney General can take the case now without that decision. In fact, California just did that with Amazon. Well, if you've got a case, go for it. But if you don't believe that the Texas Attorney General, who is currently hiding from procedural servers and when faced with further legal complications, will not attempt to subvert content moderation, I think you are dead wrong.
Without committing to the proposal, Lofgren said he would "happily" support the package.
Senators on both sides of the aisle urged the House to support the package.
Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin (DD) and Antitrust Subcommittee Chair Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota) issued a joint statement calling on the House of Representatives to vote in favor of the package. Separately, Republican Sens. Mike Lee (Utah) and Tom Cotton (Arc.) and senior Sen. Chuck Grassley (Iowa) issued statements earlier this week urging the House of Representatives to pass the package.
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