FILE PHOTO: Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee Antitrust Subcommittee Mike Lee (R-UT) speaks with Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) before a hearing in Washington, US, December 7, 2016. PHOTO: REUTERS
Senators Mike Lee and Amy Klobuchar, the chairman and top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee’s antitrust panel, said the hearing was scheduled for September 24 but did not list witnesses.
“The Subcommittee also is interested in soliciting input from policy analysts, market participants, and other stakeholders on whether legislative action relating to such mergers is needed to ensure digital markets remain competitive,” Lee said in a statement.
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Klobuchar said in the statement that the companies’ acquisitions “have raised serious competition issues.”
“Big technology companies have become some of the most powerful organisations in the world. They face little competition and there are numerous examples of the companies purchasing start-up competitors in various lines of business,” she said.
The tech giants, among the most rich and powerful companies in the world, are facing increasingly intense antitrust scrutiny.
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The Justice Department said in July that it was opening a broad investigation of major digital technology firms, focusing on whether they engage in anti-competitive practices. The investigation is believed to be aimed at Alphabet’s Google, Amazon and Facebook, and potentially Apple.
Separately, the Federal Trade Commission is also probing Amazon and Facebook to determine if they abused their massive market power.
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