Support for curbing large technology companies’ market power is widening in the Senate, with lawmakers in both parties endorsing new legal constraints on search engines, e-marketplaces, app stores and other online platforms.
Lawmakers say they are responding to public concerns over the size and influence of the tech companies, reported Wall Street Journal.
“I have been working on these issues for years, and it feels like we have finally reached a tipping point where we will take serious steps forward,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D., Minn.), a lead sponsor of some of the key bills, said. “There is bipartisan momentum to get something done, and the public is on our side.”
The measures must overcome a stepped-up lobbying effort in opposition from companies including Google,Amazon and Apple which say many of the proposals will hurt consumers who have grown dependent on their products and services.
The momentum for the bills in the Senate echoes the earlier push in the House. The House Judiciary Committee passed a raft of far-reaching antitrust bills after a tumultuous meeting in June that stretched over two days, including an all-night.
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