Big Tech Pulls Out All the Stops to Halt “Self-preferencing” Antitrust Bill

upstart writes:

Lobbying ramps up as Congress prepares to vote on landmark legislation:

Amazon and Alphabet are spearheading what is shaping up to be the most intense political campaign by corporate America in recent history as part of a last-ditch attempt to stop Congress from passing laws to curb their market power.

The companies are targeting a "self-preferencing" bill which would prevent large online platforms from using their dominance in one field to give other products an unfair advantage - for example, Alphabet using its Google search engine to promote its travel or shopping products.

[...] Democrats and Republicans have found rare common cause in recent years in their attempts to rein in the corporate power enjoyed by Silicon Valley's largest companies. Members of Congress have proposed a range of legislation to do so, including measures to limit when large technology companies can buy smaller rivals and to stop them acting as both buyers and sellers in the lucrative digital advertising market.

[...] The bill, which has been championed in the Senate by the Democratic senator Amy Klobuchar and in the House by her party colleague David Cicilline, specifically targets Amazon, Alphabet, Apple, and Facebook parent Meta. It has passed through committees in the House and the Senate, and its supporters are now waiting for Democratic leaders to move it to a floor vote.

Read more of this story at SoylentNews.