Sohn Praises Big, Bold and Bipartisan Subcommittee Report on Big Tech and Antitrust

Today Rep. David Cicilline, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law released a 450-page report on the increasing monopolization of digital markets by a handful of large tech companies. The report, which is supported by an enormous amount of evidence, makes a number of recommendations to repair and revive the nation’s antitrust laws, strengthen government oversight of the tech industry, and better protect consumers. 

The following statement should be attributed to Gigi Sohn:

The Antitrust Subcommittee’s report on the anticompetitive and anti-consumer practices of big tech companies is historic in its depth and in its calls for bold change in how Congress and government agencies should approach concentration in the digital economy. The United States has allowed antitrust laws to wither, both by lax enforcement and judicial decree. This report calls for Congress to take its rightful place as the pre-eminent force shaping antitrust law, competition policy and their enforcement. 

At a time when Democrats and Republicans can’t seem to agree on anything, the bipartisan support this report has received both for its factual findings and the idea that Congress must act to repair the market for online goods and services is nothing short of remarkable. That is due in no small part to the inclusive process that led to the development of the report, but also the recognition by both parties and the American people that just a handful of companies have enormous and nearly unfettered power over online commerce, our public discourse and indeed, our democracy.

I’m heartened that a number of the Subcommittee’s recommendations will necessarily impact other concentrated sectors of our economy, including the media, broadband and cable industries. While “big tech” is surely among the highest profile of consolidated markets, it is far from the only one. I look forward to the Subcommittee examining these other markets in depth in the near future.

Gigi Sohn is a Distinguished Fellow at the Georgetown Law Institute for Technology Law & Policy and a Benton Foundation Senior Fellow. She is the host of the Tech on the Rocks podcast. Gigi’s 2018 law review article, “A Policy Framework for an Open Internet Ecosystem,” made many of the same recommendations as the Subcommittee’s report. Gigi can be reached for comment at the above email or at 202-253-0876.