House report accuses Big Tech of ‘monopoly power’

CNN Business — A 16-month congressional investigation into Amazon, Apple, Google and Facebook has found that the tech giants hold “monopoly power” in key business segments and have abused their dominance in the marketplace, in a full-throated condemnation of the giants. In a 450-page report, staffers for the House Judiciary Committee’s antitrust panel wrote that there is “significant evidence” to show that the companies’ anticompetitive conduct has hindered innovation, reduced consumer choice and weakened democracy. “We disagree with today’s reports, which feature outdated and inaccurate allegations from commercial rivals about Search and other services.” Facebook, the report said, has maintained “an unassailable position in the social network market for nearly a decade” and solidified its power through a series of targeted acquisitions designed to eliminate would-be rivals. “The majority staff accurately portrays how Apple, Amazon, Google and Facebook have used their monopoly power to act as gatekeepers to the marketplace, undermine potential competition, and pick winners and losers.” Buck said that some of the Democratic-led report’s recommendations were “non-starters,” such as the proposal to force platform companies to separate their lines of business.