WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Biden administration should extend antitrust cases against Alphabet’s Google and Facebook and encourage the separation of companies, according to a group whose founder works with the president-elect’s transition team.
The American Economic Liberties Project, an influential antitrust group in Washington, has published a report with guidance for antitrust authorities in the next administration. The group is led by Sarah Miller, who works with President Joe Biden’s transition team and helped turn antitrust enforcement against Big Tech into a mass issue.
The report’s recommendations provide an insight into the thinking that could influence future policy-making under the Biden administration.
The group has asked the US Department of Justice to make it clear that it will continue antitrust proceedings against Google, extending the scope of litigation beyond map search, travel and its app store.
The Justice Department sued Google on October 20, accusing the $ 1 trillion company of dominating search and advertising. In December, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sued Facebook, saying the company used a “buy or bury” strategy to hurt rivals.
The report calls on the Biden administration to appoint aggressive Department of Justice and FTC authorities and calls on Biden’s nominated attorney general, Merrick Garland, to “publicly commit to seeking separation from Google.”
“The anti-monopoly movement is really young … We wanted to present a vision that people in a new administration can gather and use as a clear roadmap not only for what is possible, but for what what is needed, “Miller told Reuters.
Proponents of this view want the application of antitrust law to move away from the current standard, which only refers to whether consumers benefit from lower prices.
The report encourages antitrust agencies to challenge mergers involving a strong buyer and calls on regulators to stop entering into settlements with companies that do not require them to admit wrongdoing.
Among other recommendations, it wants to remove non-compete clauses from employment agreements and end conflicts of interest by stopping companies from operating and competing on the same platform. For example, Amazon.com Inc. operates a third-party, seller-oriented marketplace, where it also competes.
The report also urges the FTC to prioritize the introduction of an antitrust case against Amazon for hurting competitors.
Report by Nandita Bose in Washington; Montage by Cynthia Osterman