Trump
Admin to Press Ahead on Amazon, Meta Antitrust
Cases (Connecting the Dots: Amazon, Meta (Facebook),
The Breakthrough Energy Coalition & Soros Funding, All Networking)
Newsmax.com
Thursday, 20 February 2025 02:58 PM EST
https://www.newsmax.com/finance/streettalk/trump-amazon-meta/2025/02/20/id/1199862/
The
Trump administration will press on with its antitrust cases against Amazon and Meta, a top official
said Thursday, vowing to maintain pressure on Big Tech's market dominance.
In
an interview with FOX Business, newly appointed Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
Chair Andrew Ferguson confirmed that ongoing cases against Amazon and Meta
would proceed, emphasizing his commitment to "holding Big Tech's feet to
the fire."
Questions
lingered on whether the Trump presidency would continue with the cases, given
the new proximity between President Donald Trump and tech bosses.
Since
Trump's election victory in November, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has moved
aggressively to demonstrate political alignment with the White House, while
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos visited the president during the transition period.
Both
were given prominent roles during the president's inauguration ceremony.
The
Biden administration's FTC Chair Lina Khan faced bitter criticism from Silicon
Valley over what some viewed as aggressive blocking of acquisitions by major
tech companies.
"What
companies can expect over the next couple of years is vigorous antitrust
enforcement," Ferguson said, adding that the agency would strictly follow
"the law, not my preferences."
Ferguson
on Thursday also launched a public inquiry into how tech platforms restrict
user access based on speech content or affiliations.
This
would help address the frequent complaint of Republicans that major tech
platforms censor conservative content.
The
inquiry "marks an important step forward in restoring free speech and
making sure Americans no longer suffer under the tyranny of Big Tech --
permanently," he wrote on X, the social media site owned by top Trump
advisor and billionaire Elon Musk.
The
Federal Trade Commission currently shares antitrust enforcement with the
Department of Justice, which has two cases against Google and one against
Apple.
The
DOJ's antitrust division secured a major victory against Google last year and
to resolve that case, prosecutors are seeking to force Google to divest its
market-leading Chrome browser.
Gail
Slater, Trump's nominee to head the DOJ's antitrust division, has indicated
that she will continue the cases against Google and Apple.
The
FTC's case against Meta is scheduled for trial on April 14 in federal court in
Washington. The Amazon case will be heard in October 2026 in Seattle.
Ferguson
also addressed Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which provides
liability protection to online platforms, calling it "in need of very
serious reform."
While
tech companies strongly defend Section 230, public concern about social media's
harmful effects has led to increased scrutiny of the law's broad protections.
Ferguson
suggested that a Supreme Court decision or congressional action might be needed
to modify the law's scope.
Connecting
the Dots:
L. John Doerr was
a director at the Amazon.com, Inc. and is a member of the Breakthrough
Energy Coalition.
Jeffrey P. Bezos is
the chairman & president & CEO for Amazon.com, Inc., and a
member of the Breakthrough Energy Coalition.
George Soros is a member of
the Breakthrough Energy Coalition and was the chairman for
the Foundation to Promote Open Society.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for
the Brookings Institution (think tank).
Mark Zuckerberg is
a member of the Breakthrough Energy Coalition and a co-founder
& chairman & CEO for Facebook (Meta).
Sheryl K.
Sandberg is the COO & director for Facebook (Meta)
and was a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).
Resources:
Past Research
Amazon
‘Key’ Service Lets Delivery Drivers Enter Your Home When You’re Not There (Past Research on Amazon)
Wednesday,
October 25, 2017
https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2017/10/amazon-key-service-lets-delivery.html
$725
Million Facebook User Data Privacy Class Action Settlement (Connecting the
Dots: Facebook & Soros Funding, All Networking) (Past
Research on Facebook Meta)
Thursday,
April 20, 2023
https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2023/04/725-million-facebook-user-data-privacy.html
No comments:
Post a Comment