In July, a report indicated that major US technology companies such as Apple, Google, Facebook and Amazon were investigating antitrust violations by the US Department of Justice. The truth is that these companies have become so large that they dominate segments of the information technology sector, including search engines (Google), social media (Facebook) and retail (Amazon ).
Reuters reports today that the US House of Representatives has apparently launched its own investigation by asking leaders of high-tech companies to hand over their financial and other backgrounds. We also requested the sending of internal emails on acquisitions and other topics dating back more than ten years addressed to Apple's CEO, Tim Cook; The CEO of Amazon, Jeff Bezos; Larry Page, the CEO of Google's parent Alphabet; and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The leaders of the four companies testified before the House's antitrust subcommittee in July. The report released today indicates that the House is looking into YouTube's acquisition of YouTube in 2006, on its purchase of Android a year earlier and on other transactions that brought DoubleClick and AdMob to Google. The acquisitions made by Amazon are also under the microscope, as are the Facebook purchases of Instagram and WhatsApp.
Last year, the European Commission fined Google $ 5 billion for violating antitrust laws
Abroad, Apple is currently under investigation due to the 30% reduction in revenue from the App Store. The so-called "Apple tax" has led consumers to pay higher prices for apps, according to plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit filed against Apple in 2011. Because Apple does not have a price tag. not allow iOS users to download applications from third-party app stores (as Google allows on Android), complainants claim that such behavior is anti-competitive and require them to pay higher prices for apps and games. Last May, the US Supreme Court said in a 5-to-4 ruling that the lawsuit could continue, as the majority saw Apple as the distributor of apps and games for iOS users. rather than as an "intermediary" as claimed by Apple. This complaint is similar to that filed before the EU Competition Commission by the music streamer Spotify. The commission reportedly investigated Apple.
Last year, in addition to being fined $ 5 billion by the EC for violating antitrust laws, Google was forced to give Android users options other than Chrome and Google Search .
Apple responded by stating that it would only charge a 15% discount on 680,000 of the more than 100 million premium users of Spotify. First, Apple notes that the reduction in subscriptions paid through its integrated payment system (iAP) drops from 30% to 15% after the first year. He also notes that after 2016, Spotify members were no longer allowed to switch from the free ad-supported service to a paid paying subscription via the App Store, which limited the number of ############################################################################## 39; Spotify subscribers involved.
"It is increasingly evident that a handful of companies have managed to capture a disproportionate share of online commerce and communications.This information is essential to determine if anti-competitive behavior is occurring, if our agencies antitrust need to investigate specific issues and if our antitrust laws need to be improved to better promote competition in digital markets. "- Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Chair of the House Judiciary Committee
The House seeks information from each of the company's top executives on their company's market share and their main competitors. The House also wants to know the biggest customers of the technology company for certain products. Although the survey appears to be more about Google's past acquisitions, the European Commission fined it $ 5 billion last year for violating antitrust laws by forcing Android handset manufacturers to use Google Search and the Chrome browser. on their handsets. In addition, it was found that Google had paid manufacturers to install Google Search on their devices. In addition to this fine, Google was forced to create a page on Android handsets that gave users the ability to select a different browser and search engine instead of Chrome and Google, respectively.
Overall, it appears that the House is more concerned with the size and dominance of the market share of the four technology giants. Other monopolistic behaviors may be the subject of a separate investigation by the DOJ or other agencies.
