Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) will today introduce a bill targeting Big Tech monopolies, in particular the practice of favoring their own products and services in online marketplaces and search engines that they own, a practice that Amazon and Google are often accused of.
The bill bans major companies that operate search engines, marketplaces, and exchanges from selling or promoting their own goods and services through said marketplaces and search engines. If passed, this would be a major blow to Amazon and Google, which regularly engage in both practices.
In another measure that seems tailor-made to rein in Amazon and Google, the bill would prohibit companies that offer search engines, marketplaces and exchanges from offering “hosting and internet infrastructure services” for third parties.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the market leader in cloud hosting, while Google runs a similar service called Google Cloud. Google also operates Google Fiber, which provides broadband internet and IPTV across the country.
Amazon’s control over AWS has put them in a position to temporarily kick entire websites off the internet, most notably Parler.
Under the act, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) would monitor compliance. State attorneys general, and private citizens injured by violations of the act would be empowered to bring civil cases against companies that violate the terms of the act, providing an enforcement mechanism.
“Woke Big Tech companies like Google and Amazon have been coddled by Washington politicians for years,” said Sen. Hawley in a statement. “This treatment has allowed them to amass colossal amounts of power that they use to censor political opinions they don’t agree with and shut out competitors who offer consumers an alternative to the status quo.”
“It’s past time to bust up Big Tech companies, restore competition, and give the power back to the American consumers.”
Allum Bokhari is the senior technology correspondent at Breitbart News. He is the author of #DELETED: Big Tech’s Battle to Erase the Trump Movement and Steal The Election.