Big tech blows a collective raspberry at the Houses antitrust report

Among the committees recommendations are structural separations and prohibitions on certain dominant platforms from operating in adjacent lines of business; interoperability and data portability requirements; non-discrimination requirements and a ban on self-preferencing; and beefed up merger and monopolization enforcement, as well as better administration of antitrust laws.

The flawed thinking would have the primary effect of forcing millions of independent retailers out of online stores, thereby depriving these small businesses of one of the fastest and most profitable ways available to reach customers.

The substance of Amazons argument against the need for antitrust intervention is the top-line claim that retail is thriving and extraordinarily competitive with the tech giant saying it accounts for a tiny fraction of global retail and isnt even the largest US retailer by revenues . Among the grab-bag of competitors Amazon lists as evidence that its a mere retail minnow are Best Buy, Costco, Facebook, Kroger, Google Shopping, Home Depot, Shopify and Target.

The strategy here is to claim online and offline retail are just one giant market because of course if lawmakers slice by online retail alone theres no denying Amazons oversized punch.

Another chunk of rebuttal is against what it claims is false narrative that its own interests dont align with the thousands of small and medium-sized businesses thriving as sellers in our store.

Asked for its response to the committee report, Apple sent us an on the record statement in which it writes that it vehemently disagrees with the conclusions reached adding the beautiful kicker to the sentence with respect to Apple.

Many of the proposals bandied about in todays reports whether breaking up companies or undercutting Section 230 would cause real harm to consumers, Americas technology leadership and the U.S.