Don’t Fall For The Democrat Antitrust Trojan Horse

Some left-wing politicians are attempting to convince conservatives that weaponizing antitrust law is the solution to legitimate anger over Big Tech censorship. In reality, such politicians are not acting in good faith, and these bills would increase the political and government abuse of conservatives.

Even though the left labels this effort as “antitrust reform,” these bills are hardly antitrust bills. They are regulatory bills that give Biden bureaucrats sweeping new power to reshape the economy in service of their progressive social agenda.

Replacing powerful and “woke” CEOs with even more powerful “woke” bureaucrats will do nothing to stop conservative censorship. Marrying Big Tech and Big Government would make conservative censorship worse, not better.

Brought To Us By The Usual Suspects

If you give the left more government power, they will use that new power to gain even more power. Democrats will not stop this power grab after imposing heavy-handed new regulations on technology companies.

Grover Norquist, Op-ed in The Hill

The Trojan Horse Antitrust Package

• H.R. 3826 – Platform Competition & Opportunity Act, sponsored by Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.)
  • This bill bans a handful of America’s leading companies from making mergers and acquisitions that drive innovation and competition. This would prevent new startups and small businesses from forming, half of which say their most realistic long-term goal is being bought up by a larger company. 
• H.R. 3816 – American Choice and Innovation Online Act, sponsored by Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.)
  • This bill bans targeted companies from promoting generic products on their own platforms, robbing you of the ability to find Youtube videos on Google or buying AmazonBasics batteries on Amazon. The bill also bans apps from being preloaded on new devices, making your new phone virtually useless right out of the box. 
• H.R. 3843 – Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act, sponsored by Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.)
  • The Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act would give even more taxpayer money to the Biden FTC controlled by radical left-wing activists like Chair Lina Khan, giving unelected government bureaucrats more power to harass America’s leading companies and reshape the economy. 
• H.R. 3825 – Ending Platform Monopolies Act, sponsored by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.)
  • The Ending Platform Monopolies Act allows the government to break up targeted companies that operate a business that a bureaucrat determines is a “conflict of interest.” Companies would then have two years to sell off or shut down the business in question. 
• H.R. 3849 – ACCESS Act, sponsored by Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Penn.)
  • The ACCESS Act would force American companies to share your sensitive data with foreign companies like Alibaba via a government-mandated “interface,” providing hackers with a golden opportunity to steal your information. The bill also sets up secret bureaucrat committees designed to monitor the activities of American companies, increasing government control over the economy. 
• H.R. 3460 – State Antitrust Enforcement Venue Act, sponsored by Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.
  • The State Antitrust Enforcement Venue Act would disallow companies from requesting a change in venue when state attorneys general bring an antitrust suit. In our justice system meant to be blind to the litigants, when the law and facts are on your side, it doesn’t matter where the case is held. 

Republicans Should Not Fall For This Antitrust Trojan Horse

One bill would allow the government to break up targeted companies that operate a business line that a bureaucrat deems to be a “conflict of interest.” Another would prevent targeted companies from selling or providing private-label products in their marketplaces, depriving shoppers of products they value at a lower cost than name-brand products.

An additional bill would ban targeted companies from making any new mergers and acquisitions, choking off a critical pathway to success for innovative startups. To keep track of all these new restrictions, another bill sets up secret government committees to monitor the activities of each targeted company.

Clearly, none of these bills address conservative censorship concerns. Instead, the package is a brazen power grab that gives Biden bureaucrats sweeping new authority to regulate the economy. While these bills are clearly geared towards the technology sector, the left wants to regulate every industry “from cat food to caskets.” This is just the beginning.

Conservatives understandably concerned about Big Tech censorship should not vote to empower Biden bureaucrats to “fix” the problem.

Grover Norquist, Op-ed in The Hill

Conservatives have long believed that antitrust law should be a scalpel used to rectify consumer harm, not a sledgehammer that bureaucrats and trial lawyers can use to advance their progressive social agenda. The left’s antitrust “reforms” would do just that.

As negotiations continue on a Senate antitrust package, we urge you to reject any legislation that politicizes antitrust law or gives the Biden administration even more power. Doing so would harm shoppers, stunt economic growth, and increase political abuse of conservatives.