US House panel approves increase in antitrust enforcement budgets as Microsoft dodges the worst of Big Tech scrutiny

The House Judiciary Committee approved on Wednesday a bill that would increase the budgets of antitrust enforcers, which has already passed the Senate

Amid debate about antitrust bills targeting the likes of Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google, lawmakers are questioning whether Microsoft is skirting scrutiny

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An illustration picture taken in London shows the logos of Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft displayed on a mobile phone and a laptop screen on December 18, 2020. US lawmakers are questioning whether Microsoft, one of the most valuable companies in the world, is receiving the same level of scrutiny as other Big Tech companies. Photo: AFP

Published: 10:39am, 24 Jun 2021Updated: 8:34pm, 24 Jun 2021

The House Judiciary Committee voted on Wednesday to approve a bill to increase the budgets of antitrust enforcers and increase fees on the biggest mergers as the panel considered six antitrust bills, many aimed at reining in Big Tech.

US Representative Jerrold Nadler, the Democratic chairman of the Judiciary Committee, in an opening statement called the bills a “historic package of bipartisan legislation” aimed at “reining in anticompetitive abuses of the most dominant firms online”.

After more than three hours of discussion, the committee voted 29-12 to approve what has been viewed as the least controversial of the six bills – a measure to sharply increase the budgets of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division and Federal Trade Commission, which enforce antitrust law. It would also increase the filing fees for the biggest mergers.

The measure has already passed the Senate.

House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerrold Nadler – joined by, from left, Representative David Cicilline, a Democrat from Rhode Island and chairman of the antitrust subcommittee, Representative Ken Buck, a Republican from Colorado and the ranking member of the antitrust subcommittee, and Representative Joe Neguse, a Democrat from Colorado – speaks to reporters about antitrust bills on June 16. Photo: AP

In what is expected to be a lengthy session, the committee next takes up a bill that would ensure that antitrust cases brought by state attorneys general remain in the court they select.