FTC’s New Tech Competition Task Force Gets Bipartisan, Bicameral Praise
Breaking up big tech platforms like Facebook could “very potentially” help with political censorship issues related to anti-competitive behavior, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, told us, responding to questions about the FTC’s newly formed tech competition task force (see 1902270063). Facebook’s acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp are an “obvious place to inquire,” said Cruz, the agency’s Office of Policy Planning director in the early 2000s. “I hope the task force looks at both antitrust issues and consumer protection issues and in particular, the political censorship that we’ve seen from big tech.” He called the group “long overdue.”
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The initiative got praise from tech-minded Democrats interviewed. Rep. Ro Khanna of California called it a “good development.” The FTC realizes it needs to look at horizontal mergers and issues of anticompetitive behavior more carefully, he said: “They need to balance enforcement of antitrust with making sure we have a place for innovation and consumer welfare.”
There’s a “new sense of urgency” about the commission’s role as tech “watchdog,” said House Consumer Protection Subcommittee Chairman Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill. Khanna said he’s working closely with Schakowsky on her pending privacy bill (see 1902260062), and they're looking to incorporate principles from his Internet Bill of Rights (see 1810050036).
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said he’s frustrated with lack of FTC enforcement. The more Silicon Valley scrutiny, “the better,” he said. “It sounds like an awfully good idea.” There's “no competition” for some of these Silicon Valley platforms, said Sen. John Kennedy, R-La. “That’s part of the problem.” Kennedy is “anxious” to see what the agency finds, calling privacy and First Amendment concerns “legitimate.”
That the initiative will deploy around 17 full-time staff attorneys “signals a very serious effort by the agency,” former acting Chief Technologist Neil Chilson tweeted. “Curious how this compares to past FTC task forces; it's the biggest that I can recall.”
The FTC has to be an aggressive and proactive enforcer in this area, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., told reporters: “I’m glad that they’ve convened it, but what we really need is action, more than just a task force.” Advancing the most pro-consumer agenda means advancing a pro-competition agenda, Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., told reporters. “I’ve been generally pretty pleased with the FTC leaning forward on these matters, and they’ve been able to work, in contrast to the FCC, on a bipartisan basis,” Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, told us.