Washington puts the power of the four technologies at the center of its concerns

Congress and the executive have divided control of Apple, Google, Amazon and Facebook to investigate accusations of monopolistic, prejudicial and false content.

WASHINGTON.- From Steve Bannon, former advisor to

Donald Trump

and a catalyst for the radical new American right, even Senator Elizabeth Warren, on the far left of aspiring Democrats to overthrow the Republican in 2020. On the part of the president himself, who complained about her "ridiculous political bias" in the House of Representatives Democratic Party Nancy Pelosi warned this week that "unjustified and concentrated economic power in the hands of the few is dangerous for democracy".

In a political landscape more polarized than ever, the desire to control the power of the giants of technology arouses an unusual unanimity. Last Monday, the House of Representatives announced the opening of an investigation into the possible monopolistic behavior of technology giants. The debate over the power limits of Google, Facebook, Amazon and Apple thus goes from the academic and journalistic field to the heart of American democracy.

The initiative can lead to the first revision of competition laws for decades and, most importantly, to public oversight of an industry that did not exist at the time these standards were formulated and which, since last year , is strongly criticized for its power, its management of privacy and its role in spreading misinformation.

"There is rarely such a consensus, but when that happens, extraordinary things happen," warns Barry Lynn, founder of the Open Markets Institute and veteran activist against the concentration of power.

"We are talking about 18 months of public hearings, of crackdowns between Republicans and Democrats, these audiences educate lawmakers, the public, the executive, the media and the key lies in the use of the & # 39; The authority of the United States Congress to investigate and shed light on these societies which constitute a danger to our democracy, they represent the greatest threat to our democracy since the Second World War, we must act now and with force, and Congress has all the tools to do it ", Lynn

The announcement coincided with another offensive, in this case by the White House. A few hours before the announcement of the Congress, it was learned that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Ministry of Justice, the two entities responsible for competition, had been distributed to the four companies for investigation.

Division

According to this announcement, the scrutiny of

Apple

and

Google

will be responsible for the Department of Justice, while the badysis of Amazon and Facebook will be under the supervision of the FTC. The announcement resulted in a decline in the share price of the four companies, which fell by 7% in the case of Facebook.

Charlotte Slaiman, a lawyer specializing in competition law and adviser to the nonprofit organization Public Knowledge, agrees that both investigations are "critically important".

"The main difference between the two is that the Congress is more public, while the Justice Department and the FTC act more discreetly until they publish their findings, and they are forced to do so." Investigating potential violations of antitrust laws, while the Congress has no limits, "he explains.

While the excesses of Wall Street have fueled the campaign for the 2008 presidential election, the year of the explosion of the great financial crisis, the debate about the power of the tech giants is set to become the # 1 39, one of the main themes of the 2020 campaign

Senator Warren has already said that this would force major technology companies to dismember and go back in operations such as Facebook's purchase of Instagram or WhatsApp.

It is thought that his proposal will force the other Democratic candidates to position themselves and will probably lead them into extreme positions against companies that, in just one year, have become a little less than the bad officials in front of the public.

Point of inflection

Only a year ago, the Cambridge Analytica scandal hit Facebook's reputation and raised questions about the practices of these giants. But since then, little has been done to limit his power. However, with the new measures, it seems that this is changing.

In the field of competition, Google has been accused of promoting their own products in searches carried out by users and to have abused their influence in the advertising market.

Facebook is under consideration to become a monopoly on social networks, with the acquisition of Instagram and WhatsApp.

Amazon, which controls half of the online business, is accused of putting pressure on vendors who use the platform.

And Apple, to abuse its monopoly position in its application market.

"The growth of monopoly power in our economy is one of the most pressing political and economic challenges we face today," said Congressman David Cicilline, in announcing the announcement. investigation.

"After two decades of little antitrust and judicial hostility to these cases, it is essential that Congress take action to determine whether existing laws are sufficient to combat the abusive behavior of platforms or where we need new legislation. "

However, we can not expect the mighty giants just waiting to have their hands folded in this crucial battle for their future in Washington (see separately).

In just a short time, large technology companies have become one of the major players in the lobbying industry, as well as major historic power plants, such as the arms sector, the automotive industry and the banking sector.

Together, the four companies have already spent more than $ 55 million on lobbying practices last year, twice as much as in 2016, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, which counts these contributions.

Last month, the Internet Association, the lobby group representing Amazon, Facebook, and Google, presented their prize for online freedom. The distinguished was Ivanka Trump, daughter of the president and wife of his adviser, Jared Kushner.

The country

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