WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, a Republican who has been a staunch critic of Big Tech, said Monday he introduced a bill that would ban all mergers and acquisitions of any market-value company. over $ 100 billion, a category that includes the five largest U.S. technology companies.
Hawley, who accuses larger social media companies of drowning out conservative voices, also criticized other sectors, such as the pharmacist, who said they were too focused and had too much market power.
Its new bill would effectively ban Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp, Amazon.com Inc., Google and Facebook Inc. from Alphabet Inc. from any offer and try to prevent its platforms from favoring its own products over rivals.
The Hawley bill addresses some of the same issues as an antitrust bill introduced by Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar in February and contains some similar measures.
Asked about Klobuchar’s bill, Hawley said, “I am willing to work with her and anyone from any party and from any background. I really like what Senator Klobuchar has proposed.”
He described his bill as “significantly tougher”.
In the House of Representatives, Rep. David Cicilline has said he plans to introduce a series of antitrust bills.
Hawley was also asked if he would support technical critic Lina Khan, a progressive who has been nominated as a commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission, which works with the Justice Department to enforce antitrust law. Hawley said he was “very impressed” by her, but added, “I haven’t made a final decision.”
Diane Bartz reports to Washington; Edited by Matthew Lewis