Big Tech: New Step to Curb Firms’ Power Advanced by US Senate Panel

The bill also could bring restrictions for Google’s search engine.

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By Associated Press | Updated: 22 January 2022 13:03 IST
Highlights
  • Big tech platforms may be barred from favouring their own offerings
  • Google's search engine may be affected by the bipartisan legislation
  • Meta, Google, Amazon, and Apple lobbied against the legislation

The US Congress is tying to curb the dominance of tech giants and anticompetitive practices

The US Congress has taken a new step toward reining in the market dominance of Big Tech companies. Bipartisan legislation advanced by a Senate panel would bar the dominant online platforms from favouring their own goods and services over those of rivals. It could, for example, prevent Amazon from steering consumers to its own brands and away from competitors' products on its giant e-commerce platform.

The bill also could bring restrictions for Google's search engine, which accounts for about 90 percent of web searches worldwide and routinely places its services at the top of search results.

The legislation won a 16-6 vote in the US Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday and was sent on to the full Senate. The action marked a new turn in Congress' effort to curb the dominance of the tech giants and anticompetitive practices that critics say have hurt consumers, small businesses and innovation.

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Lobbying by Meta (formerly Facebook), Google, Amazon, Apple and other tech giants was intense ahead of the US Senate panel's action.


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