Before Wednesday’s House Antitrust Hearing, Read This
This Wednesday, the CEOs of some of the most innovative companies in the world will be testifying before the House Antitrust Subcommittee. There is a lot of information out there, so we wanted to help provide you with a one-stop resource for everything that will be discussed on Wednesday.
You should also see our new public poll, conducted by Morning Consult, that found 76 percent of Americans believe the tech industry has a positive impact on the U.S. economy.
Antitrust has a clear and established framework that works for the U.S. economy.
The consumer welfare standard is the key to clear, consistent, and predictable enforcement. Regulators use the consumer welfare standard as their primary guidepost for antitrust enforcement. As opposed to earlier regimes of politically motivated regulatory action, the consumer welfare standard has given antitrust enforcers a clear objective: maximize the welfare of consumers, as consumers. Read more.
There are dangers in changing antitrust law for the sake of scoring political gains. Altering the consumer welfare framework could have a myriad of unintended consequences — including some directly harming consumers, small businesses, and startups. These include politicizing enforcement, opening the door to regulatory capture, and harming competition in the long run. Read more.
There is robust competition across the tech sector that leads to groundbreaking innovations. The tech sector frequently sees massive disruptions caused by innovation which result in competitors previously seen as dominant rapidly losing their market position. The high levels of R&D spending, plethora of free or low-cost options for consumers, and consistent record of disruption by new entrants all point to an aggressively competitive tech sector. Read more.
The tech market is working for consumers and small businesses.
Americans value and trust tech companies. Whereas tech debates in Washington focus on extreme proposals, American consumers and small businesses consistently say they love the tools and innovations the tech industry provides. Time and again, Americans have made clear that tech is among the industries they trust the most, and that they believe industry will improve their lives. Read more.
Small businesses rely on tech services to reach new customers and expand their customer base. Digital tools enable small businesses to break out of the constraints imposed by geography and reach a global consumer base. Digital tools provide a scalable, cost-effective means for small businesses to reach consumers directly. Small businesses consistently point to tools such as digital advertising as the number-one means for them to grow their business. Read more.
Read more on the background of antitrust issues here.