US antitrust opponents signal discord on Big Tech probes

The Federal Trade Commission sent a letter to the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice in which the FTC complained about the Ministry's behavior and expressed concern about the recent interactions between the two. agencies, according to people close to the file. material.

The undisclosed letter from Joe Simons, president of the FTC, suggests that the long-standing power-sharing agreement between the two agencies is eroding. This also raises concerns that the voltage may cripple many of the current antitrust probes of large technology companies.

A spokeswoman for the FTC declined to comment. The Department of Justice did not respond to a request for comment.

The chair of the Senate Subcommittee on Antitrust Issues, Republican Mike Lee of Utah, said he planned to ask questions about the letter and the tensions that resulted from it. an audition on Tuesday. Mr. Simons and the GM's antitrust chief

Makan Delrahim

are supposed to testify.

"Sen. Lee is aware of the letter and intends to ask at tomorrow's supervisory hearing whether the clearance process between agencies is working and, if not, whether the FTC and the GM conduct duplicate investigations, "Lee spokesman Lee said Monday. This licensing process, a long-standing agreement between the two agencies, helps to determine which of them investigates specific areas.

Lee recently raised concerns over clashes between the two agencies – for example, when the Justice Department made the unusual decision to undermine the FTC's antitrust lawsuit against the chip maker.

Qualcomm
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earlier this year. He even suggested that having two federal enforcement agencies could contribute to the problems.

"This kind of dysfunction and confusion illustrates why the presence of two agencies at the helm of the device does not allow effective enforcement of antitrust laws," Lee said in August.

The FTC and the Department of Justice share the same antitrust enforcement powers in the United States. While they were sometimes rivals and engaged in a fierce battle, employees of both organizations acknowledged that their interactions had become unusually tense.

Technical problems are a major contributing factor. The FTC and the GM are under considerable pressure to investigate – and potentially challenge – a series of actions by a handful of companies that dominate online research, retail and social media.

A point of contention between agencies is whether the Justice Department will open its own antitrust investigation on Facebook, according to people familiar with the case.

Delrahim and Simons earlier this year negotiated arrangements to allow the Department of Justice to investigate

Alphabet
Inc.

GOOG -0.67%

Google for possible monopolistic tactics and also entrusted the ministry with jurisdiction over

Apple
Inc.

for similar problems. The FTC has secured the right to explore monopolization issues involving Facebook and

Amazon.com
Inc.

In July, however, the Department of Justice took another step in announcing a broad review to determine whether dominant online platforms in general were illegally stifling competition. This has raised the rare possibility that both agencies are investigating the same company at the same time, Facebook.

One of the purposes of the FTC Facebook Inquiry is to determine whether the social media giant has engaged in a series of acquisitions designed to eliminate future competitors. Meanwhile, the Department of Justice has also filed complaints about Facebook, including from people who advocate the dissolution of the company.

Facebook has not provided any comment in response. During the summer, the company said the FTC was investigating "in the areas of social networking, social media services, digital advertising and / or mobile or online applications.

Google declined to comment. Amazon and Apple did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The decision of the Ministry of Justice to intervene this year in the FTC antitrust proceedings against Qualcomm is another sensitive point, which has lasted for months. The Commission In May, a Californian federal judge ruled in favor of implementing major changes in Qualcomm's business practices, but last month a court of appeal suspended the decision.

The Department of Justice supports Qualcomm, stating that the trial judge's decision was incorrect in a number of respects. He also argued in court documents that this decision would undermine Qualcomm's competitiveness in 5G innovation and have an impact on national security. The court of appeal cited the position of the Ministry of Justice that had granted Qualcomm a suspension last month.

FTC officials believe that the evil ministry has a fundamental understanding of their cause and that the GM did not properly consult them before intervening, according to people close to the case.

Qualcomm stated that its business practices were justified and legal.

The battles between the two agencies are "a real obstacle to the effectiveness of the American strategy. [antitrust] system, "said William Kovacic, former commissioner of the FTC, today a law professor at George Washington University. "This does not mean that individual efforts fail, but it diminishes the chances of success. This makes it more difficult to obtain a good result. "

Write to John D. McKinnon at [email protected] and Brent Kendall at [email protected]