top of page

European Tech Regulations Don’t Belong On America’s Side Of The Atlantic

Ashley Baker

The following op-ed by CFJ director of public policy Ashley Baker was published in The Daily Caller:

Facebook, Google, Amazon, and Apple faced antitrust scrutiny in a House Judiciary Committee hearing this week on the “impact of market power of online platforms on innovation and entrepreneurship.” The Democratic-led committee opened an antitrust probe in June. More recently, Republicans took a swing at the controversial White House social media summit, and will be holding additional hearings this month. For the past year, bipartisan enmity has led to perpetual committee hearings on issues relating to technology.

Meanwhile, other companies such as Yelp are meeting with lawmakers hoping to gain their favor.

It was an ironic spectacle to see these four companies sit next to one another defending themselves against accusations that they have no competitors. On the most basic level, the companies are competing for user attention. Time spent browsing Facebook is time that cannot be spent tweeting, watching YouTube videos, or shopping online.

Outside of the hearing room, new companies and innovative business models present plenty of competition. For example, just last week, The Atlantic reported, “TikTok stars are preparing to take over the internet.” Last year, TikTok was the third most-installed app — trailing only WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger — and the company spent $1 billion on advertising alone...

Contact Us

1629 K St. NW
Suite #300
Washington, DC 20006 
 
Phone:  (202) 270-7748
Email: contact@committeeforjustice.org

Support Our Mission

We are only able to accomplish our mission through your generous support.
Please consider making a donation today. 

Follow Us Online 

Copyright (c) 2019 by The Committee for Justice 

bottom of page
Mastodon