A US House Judiciary Committee report states that Google, Apple and other companies exercised "monopoly power" over some market segments giving them unfair advantage.
The antitrust investigation hearing that the US House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee conducted has ended and in its report, it claimed that Google, Apple, and other Big Tech companies like Facebook and Amazon, all exercised "monopoly power" over certain market categories. The subcommittee also recommends there should be "structural separations" and changes that would prevent companies from having their services accorded preferential treatment.
However, whether or not the changes demanded by members of the US House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee are implemented is far from certain. While the Big Tech hearings may not have produced significant results by way of meaningful answers, but the investigation related to the deliberations may have generated substantial outcomes. The antitrust subcommittee recently made public the results of their 16-month-long investigation, which concluded that Google, Apple, Amazon, and Facebook have and use "monopoly power" that requires major changes.
The US House Judiciary Committee report where members say Google, Apple and other Big Tech companies use "monopoly power" that warrants changes, states that Google allegedly exercises monopoly in search that it imposes through "anti-competitive tactics," which include searches through Android devices. The subcommittee report said that the search titan allegedly abused its power in requiring phone makers to pre-install its apps and in most cases, set them as defaults. This cements their lead in search and certain app categories.
U.S. House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee Refers to Apple, Google, Facebook, Others as ‘Oil barons and Railroad Tycoons’ https://t.co/fksf5t3UcA — MacTrast (@MacTrast) October 6, 2020
In the case of Apple, the US House Judiciary Committee report, which found Google, Apple and other Big Tech companies use "monopoly power" that demands changes, mentioned that Apple exercises monopoly in the app market on iOS devices where it discourages use of rival apps and also charges "supra-competitive" prices. Amazon's alleged monopoly, on the other hand, resulted from buying up companies, undermining their third-party sellers, and using Alexa to pitch their products while gathering user data. For Facebook, the committee accuses the social network giant of creating a monopoly when it acquired companies like WhatsApp and Instagram to stifle competition.
The House Judiciary antitrust subcommittee released its highly anticipated final report, the 449-page culmination of its 15-month investigation into Big Tech. https://t.co/7Qe83LqT4D — Protocol (@protocol) October 7, 2020
The US House Judiciary Committee report, that found Google, Apple and other Big Tech companies use "monopoly power," stated that the current situation requires the implementation of major changes. The subcommittee also recommended the filing of serious antitrust action against the Big Tech companies and to bar dominant platform operators from participating in "adjacent businesses.
For Google, which has always rejected monopoly claims, it dismissed proposals to restrain its Android and search policies. Members of the US House Judiciary Committee who wrote the report stating Google, Apple and other Big Tech companies use "monopoly power," said that the search engine giant needs to implement major changes like accommodating third-party stores and apps, including those that come pre-loaded on non-Pixel smartphones.
