On Friday Joe Biden will send an order to federal agencies that approve mergers, to crack down big tech companies because they have obtained outsize market power.
According to The New York Times, the executive order includes several measures specifically targeting big tech companies like Google, Facebook, Apple, and Amazon.
Joe Biden concerned about the power big tech have in the market
Biden wants to encourage the Federal Trade Commission to write down rules limiting the use of consumer data — a criticism against companies like Amazon, that they use data that they know about users to have an upper hand on competing businesses.
However new FTC chair Lina Khan, who CNBC says is a Biden appointee who at 32 became the youngest person ever to hold the role when she was sworn in last month, has already carved out a reputation as a vocal advocate for reforming and tightening regulations on tech giants.
Biden says that these companies are becoming gatekeepers to commerce, communication and culture, reported NYT.
Big tech makes it impossible for small businesses to enter the market, US government says
Academics, lawmakers, and rival companies say that the government failed over a decade ago to check the growth of these companies and regulate it. They also suggest that policymakers need to combatively enforce antitrust laws and rewrite them to capture Silicon Valley’s business models.
Big Tech critics say that the economy has become so concentrated that the safety of consumers has become compromised — this includes industries like agriculture, medicine, and fashion.
“The impulse for this executive order is really around where can we encourage greater competition across the board,” White House chief economic advisor Brian Deese told CNBC an exclusive interview.
Deese also mentioned that big tech companies make it really difficult for small businesses to enter the market. CNBC says that the order will also tackle the issue of “killer acquisitions” – in which the big firms buy small firms to take them out of the market.
“The order is not just about monopolies, but it’s about consolidation more generally and the lack of competition when you have a limited set of market players,” Deese added.