The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday approved a bill that would bar tech giants like Apple, Google, Amazon and others from giving preference to their own businesses on their websites, despite hefty lobbying from top executives like Apple CEO Tim Cook.
Lawmakers voted on an amended version of a bill introduced by Senators Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat, and Chuck Grassley, a Republican, that expanded the definition of companies covered by the bill to include firms like the popular video app TikTok and specified that companies were not required to share data with firms that the U.S. government considers national security risks.
Republican Senator Ted Cruz said during the hearing that he spoke on Wednesday with Cook, saying he “expressed significant concerns about the bill.”
Sen. Cruz says he spent about 40 minutes on the phone yesterday with Apple CEO Tim Cook 👀
— Lauren Feiner (@lauren_feiner) January 20, 2022
The Cowen Washington Research Group said that despite the committee’s 16-6 vote to approve the measure, enough of its supporters expressed reservations that it had less than a 50% chance of becoming law.
Matt Schruers, president of the Computer and Communications Industry Association, criticized the Klobuchar/Grassley measure and predicted it would not pass the Senate. “Antitrust policy should aim to promote consumer welfare – not punish specific companies,” he said in a statement.
MacDailyNews Note: For his part, Cruz this evening tweeted this:
The power that the Big Tech oligarchs wield would make John D. Rockefeller blush! pic.twitter.com/mFdbxZM1H2
— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) January 20, 2022
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