US lawmakers have recognised the need for legislation against monopoly power enjoyed by Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google.

The democratic majority of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law has published a report on their recommendations on how antitrust laws and enforcement can be changed after a 16 month investigation into the big four tech giants.

The report states as follows:

“First, each platform now serves as a gatekeeper over a key channel of distribution. By controlling access to markets, these giants can pick winners and losers throughout our economy. They not only wield tremendous power, but they also abuse it by charging exorbitant fees, imposing oppressive contract terms, and extracting valuable data from the people and businesses that rely on them.”

“Second, each platform uses its gatekeeper position to maintain its market power. By controlling the infrastructure of the digital age, they have surveilled other businesses to identify potential rivals, and have ultimately bought out, copied, or cut off their competitive threats.”

“Finally, these firms have abused their role as intermediaries to further entrench and expand their dominance. Whether through self-preferencing, predatory pricing or exclusionary conduct, the dominant platforms have exploited their power in order to become even more dominant.”

Read the full article here