WASHINGTON—This week, the House of Representatives is expected to vote on a package of three antitrust bills that would begin the important work of reining in Big Tech: the State Antitrust Enforcement Venue Act, Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act, and Foreign Merger Subsidy Disclosure Act. Experts from Heritage’s Tech Policy Center—Kara Frederick, director of the center; Will Thibeau, policy analyst; and Jake Denton, research associate—released the following statement ahead of the scheduled vote:  

“Big Tech companies should not have outsized authority to shape and control society. However, we have all watched these companies take an increasingly troubling share of control over our politics and culture in recent years. Conservatives should champion targeted, commonsense policies that constrain Big Tech companies’ abuse of power. This package equips the American people’s representatives with tools to do so. These bills represent an important step toward restoring self-governance, shoring up our national security, and enforcing current antitrust laws to promote competitiveness—without expanding or unduly empowering the federal bureaucracy. 

 

“From providing state attorneys general with a more level playing field in critical litigation against Big Tech to exposing Big Tech’s cozy relationship with U.S. adversaries like the Chinese Communist Party, this package is a requisite starting point to rebalance the relationship between American citizens and the Big Tech companies that abuse them.” 

See Heritage’s complete set of recommendations to end Big Tech’s iron grip on American society and politics, Combating Big Tech’s Totalitarianism: A Road Map