Does the FTC want to put BigTech in its place?

Does the FTC want to put BigTech in its place?

New York, Jan. 23, 2022

The Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice plan to rewrite guidelines to potentially crack down on acquisitions and mergers by Big Tech.

On Tuesday, the agencies opened a joint public inquiry to strengthen enforcement against illegal or anticompetitive mergers. The announcement came on the same day that Microsoft announced it would buy game developer Activision Blizzard for $69 billion. If successful, the deal would be the largest tech deal in U.S. history.

Government regulators announced they will revise the framework they use to evaluate proposed mergers, particularly in digital markets.
On background, FTC Chairwoman Lina M. Khan noted that illegal mergers lead to lower wages, higher prices, less innovation and less resilience. The FTC and DOJ’s Antitrust Division are now seeking public comment on how to „modernize“ antitrust enforcement of mergers.
Khan and DOJ Antitrust Division head Jonathan Kanter, both nominated by President Biden, have already expressed interest in putting Big Tech in its place.

Filings for new mergers have doubled in the U.S. from 2020 to 2021.
Recently, Facebook parent Meta lost its motion to dismiss a U.S. antitrust case against the company, allowing the FTC to bring illegal monopolization charges.

The FTC argues that Meta took a „buy or bury“ approach to competitors when it acquired Instagram and WhatsApp in 2012 and 2014, respectively.