After the questioning the CEOs of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google in July 2020, the US antitrust subcommittee is out with its verdict. It also calls for structural separations and prohibitions of certain dominant platforms of the companies.
In its report, the antitrust subcommittee says that the four companies are dominant in their respective industries. They serve as gatekeepers over key channels of distribution, part of the report reads. While they have uncontested powers, they also abuse their position by charging exorbitant fees; imposing oppressive contract terms; and collecting sensitive data from users.
Additionally, the committee said these giant companies abused its role and restricted competition by either buying, copying or cutting them off. Regarding Amazon, they mention its acquisition of competitors such as Diapers.com and Zappos to establish its dominant position.
“Amazon’s dual role as an operator of its marketplace that hosts third-party sellers, and a seller in that same marketplace, creates an inherent conflict of interest,” the report reads.
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Meanwhile, Apple’s control over iOS and the App Store was highlighted. This control enabled Apple to place barriers on the path of competitors and also exclude rivals. Developers have complained about this aspect of Apple’s store; one example is its current problem with Epic Games.
Facebook was accused of leveraging its data and market intelligence advantage to detect competitors and buy them. Also, they say that it is due to lack of competition that made Facebook’s privacy policy deteriorate.
The US antitrust subcommittee pointed out that Google’s dominance in internet searches gave it the power to push competitors away. “Since capturing a monopoly over general search, Google has steadily proliferated its search results page with ads and with Google’s own content, while also blurring the distinction between paid ads and organic results.
“As a result of these tactics, Google appears to be siphoning off traffic from the rest of the web, while entities seeking to reach users must pay Google steadily increasing sums for ads. Numerous market participants analogized Google to a gatekeeper that is extorting users for access to its critical distribution channel, even as its search page shows users less relevant results,” XDA Developers reported.
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