Sweeping reforms proposed by a house panel led by Democrats seek to block tech giants such as Apple inc. and Amazon.com inc. from selling their own products and owning marketplaces, according to Bloomberg. Recommendations an overhaul of competition law after year-long investigations by Democratic Representative David Cicilline. Cicilline’s recommendations include a Glass-Steagall law, a Depression-era law separating investment and commercial banking.
- Proposal to inhibit tech companies from entering into different lines of business which amounts to break up of companies-Ken Buck, Colorado Republican Representative.
- A majority’s remedy creating competition in the tech marketplace is enacting legislation forming structural separation-Buck
- Report calls for legislation requiring tech firms to allow user move data from one website to another-Buck
- Proposal seeks to cap market share of some mergers by 25%, overturn key court decisions hampering enforcement agencies from blocking mergers, and eradicate arbitration clauses.
- Tech giants are engaging in “deeply disturbing” abuse of dominance-Cicilline
- Tech companies have been acquiring promising start-up with little or no scrutiny from antitrust enforcers-Committee
- Rising concern of censorship and bias against conservative personalities and outlets-Buck
- Legislative action facing an uphill battle and may not happen until 2021 due to Republican skepticism changing antitrust law.
Tech stocks trading not changed on premarket despite proposed legislation.
Yesterday close: FAANG is up 2.66%, FB: NASDAQ is up 1.81%, AMZN is up 2.37%, GOOGL: NASDAQ is up 1.87%, AAPL: NASDAQ is up 3.08%.
