Please Stop Big Tech, Small Rivals Tell Lawmakers

“It’s like playing a soccer game,” said Kirsten Daru, the vice president and general counsel of Tile. “You might be the best team in the league, but you’re playing against a team that owns the field, the ball, the stadium and the entire league, and they can change the rules of the game in their own favor and anytime.”

The executives’ criticism provided lawmakers on the House antitrust subcommittee, which conducted the hearing, with personal stories about the power and influence of Silicon Valley’s biggest companies. Last year, the House opened a broad investigation into whether those large companies violated antitrust laws. At the same time, the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission opened separate competition investigations into Amazon, Facebook Apple and Google. In addition, nearly all 50 states are investigating whether Facebook and Google engage in anticompetitive practices.

Despite all of those investigations, few companies have come forward to complain in public. The House antitrust subcommittee has interviewed dozens of companies that accuse the big tech companies of unlawfully stifling competition. Most have insisted on confidentiality. This month, Sonos sued Google on allegations of antitrust violations and patent infringement, in its first pointed action against the company.

Lawmakers at Friday’s hearing, which was held in Boulder in part to draw more national attention to the House investigation, noted how rarely start-ups spoke out about their complaints, and encouraged them to keep making their case.

“Thank you for your testimony, and quite frankly your courage to be here today,” said Representative Ed Perlmutter, a Democrat from Colorado. “Because when you take on dominant players, whether it’s Amazon, Google, Apple or Facebook, you’ve got to have a little trepidation.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/17/technology/antitrust-hearing-boulder-colorado.html?emc=rss&partner=rss