Antitrust Agreement?
Antitrust laws hold a big part in our corporate environment as they prevent monopolies from forming. A capitalist economy, never want monopolies as it kills competition in certain industries, removing the incentive to create businesses. The US has done a good job with this ever since the times of Rockefeller, but a few companies have reappeared, going by the name of Big Tech.
There has been heavy debate regarding whether these companies are violating antitrust laws or not, but support is starting to pour in on both sides. The three main opponents are Google, Amazon, and Apple, and these companies are lobbying to block these bills from being passed. However, the government has both sides joined together, and the public is behind them too. One bill proposed would treat products like Google Search and Amazon Marketplace as dominant railroad operators, which essentially means the era of Rockefeller, except he was involved with oil. Another would place restrictions on app stores and make tech companies prove that a merger or acquisition wouldn’t hurt competition in the industry, pointing fingers at Meta’s acquisition of WhatsApp. Amazon is the biggest opposition, and the most-known company too. CEO Andy Jassy has publicly opposed it, repeating the fact that Amazon represents a small share of the retail industry, and Amazon’s paying the most money to lobbying groups; according to OpenSecrets, Amazon has spent 15.3 million dollars on lobby groups this year, more than any individual company. This still leaves a long path for the bills to be passed, but there is hope. What do you think about these bills?
I am not a financial advisor and my comments should never be taken as financial advice. Investments come with risk, so always do your research and analysis beforehand.
