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According to Utah Senator Mike Lee, having two federal agencies to oversee antitrust matters hinders strong investigations and law enforcement, especially when it comes to Big Tech.
The two-term Republican said the current arrangement between the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice was not working.
“When no one knows who is in charge, bad things happen and sophisticated players like Facebook, Twitter and Google – who can afford an army of lawyers, lobbyists and consultants – can play the system to their own advantage. and thus avoid accountability for engaging in anti-competitive behavior, ”he said.
Lee introduced a bill last week that he said would remedy the situation and help hold Big Tech more accountable.
The Single Body Bill which would place all antitrust measures under the responsibility of the Department of Justice.
“The Ministry of Justice is more politically responsible and its structure is better suited for decisive enforcement,” he said. It is also the only agency that can oversee criminal cases, he said.
Lee, who had previously complained about a malfunction between the two agencies, introduced the bill following a congressional hearing in which senators summoned Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and CEO of Twitter Jack Dorsey. Lee accused both social media platforms of being biased against conservatives, Republicans and life advocates.
Frequent criticism of how Twitter moderates content, Lee now posts often on his conservative alternative called Speak.
In an article in Speak, he said the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing with Zuckerberg and Dorsey revealed Big Tech should be held accountable.
“There are as many potential remedies for this problem as there are aspects of the problem, and I am working on any problems I can identify,” he said.
Proposing to place all antitrust investigations and law enforcement under the Department of Justice is one such solution that Lee says is necessary due to the agency’s lack of accountability.
The two-headed approach to antitrust law enforcement over the past century has led to increasing inefficiency, waste, delay and confusion, he said.
The DOJ and the FTC are currently working under an agreement whereby each agency must obtain the other’s permission before opening an investigation. This regularly leads to internal battles as lawyers at each agency argue over who gets the case.
Jurisdiction over a merger of body camera companies was literally decided by lottery, Lee wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed. The two agencies, he said, have also taken different positions on antitrust policy issues, even going so far as to argue in court on the same appeal.
“Every year, government lawyers spend hundreds of hours dealing with these fights, wasting taxpayer dollars and delaying the enforcement of antitrust laws that protect American consumers. This is no way to run a government, ”he wrote.
A congressional report released last month by the Main Democrats found that Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google were engaging in a range of anti-competitive practices and that companies needed to be restructured and antitrust laws reformed.
The report recommends the passage of new laws that could shatter tech companies and make it more difficult for them to pursue acquisitions. He also calls for clarifying existing antitrust laws to make them easier to enforce, especially for tech companies.
Also in October, the DOJ sued Google for allegedly stifling competition in order to maintain its strong position in the online search and search advertising market. The lawsuit marks the largest U.S. lawsuit against a big tech company since the landmark Microsoft case nearly two decades ago.
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