Antitrust legislation aimed at “Big Tech” companies appears stymied after U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told a group of donors Tuesday evening that he doesn’t believe there are enough votes to pass the measure.
The Senate doesn’t have the 60 votes needed to approve it, Schumer reportedly told people who attended a fundraiser for Schumer’s political action committee, at a restaurant near Capitol Hill.
Emily Birnbaum for Bloomberg News:
Schumer had previously affirmed that he was working with the legislation’s lead Democratic sponsor in the Senate, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, but he hadn’t said publicly that he thinks the bill’s prospects are dim. He had earlier pledged to bring the legislation to a vote early this summer.
The bill would prevent Apple. Inc., Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Meta Platforms, Inc. and Amazon from using their gatekeeper power to discriminate against rivals.
The legislation now faces an extremely narrow window when the Senate returns in September with other priorities pushing ahead of the closely watched measure.
Schumer at a press conference earlier Tuesday said the Senate’s priorities ahead of the August recess are semiconductor legislation, budget reconciliation and a bill to address healthcare for veterans. He didn’t include the tech antitrust bill.
MacDailyNews Take: As we wrote on Tuesday, describing the prospects of these Senate and House bills passing as tenuous (“if the bills ever come up for vote, much less become law”):
No one is forced to use an iPhone.
Apple does not have a monopoly position in smartphones. Therefore, Apple should not be subject to so-called antitrust laws.
Mobile Operating System Market Share Worldwide (StatCounter, June 2022):
• Android: 72.12%
• iOS: 27.22%
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He got a nice big re-election donation….obviously! This was all a sham to get big tech to contribute to their re-election fund which they get keep when they leave office…..what is called legal bribes in the DC Swamp.
Maybe you should vote for representatives that would increase regulations on corporate political influence, campaign finance reform, financial disclosure, and term limits.
You keep shilling for corporations and enraging everyone with nasty partisan politics for your favorite one of the two corrupt entrenched parties, why? WHY?????
If you want different results, hire a representative that isn’t a corporate stooge from the two self serving parties that created the current inefficient mess.
Poor AppleBSCynic will just have to have a pity party, now that their favorite whipping boy, Apple, isn’t getting its pipeline inspected by the Feds.
AppleBSCynic does have a monopoly on boneheadedness though.
It’s interesting how MDN uses worldwide figures for US legislation…
Mobile Operating System Market Share – United States
iOS: 56.69%
Android: 43.02%
https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/mobile/united-states-of-america
Still not a monopoly, genius.
He didn’t use the word “monopoly”.
He was simply showing how iOS has a majority share in the USA.
“Still not a monopoly, genius.”
By your logic, technically Microsoft wasn’t a monopoly either. It was all just a coincidence that Microsoft could dictate what software came preinstalled on PCs, what nag messages users received, and what 3rd party software companies were able to survive MS’s well documented market bullying behavior. The very existence of the Mac, at about 5% market share, means to your absolutist interpretation that MS should have been allowed to continue jerking around PC makers and smaller software firms.
Let us all know how you install software on your iPhone without passing an Apple censor. Remember, once you have purchased your hardware, it is yours. Any other company wouldn’t be allowed to block 3rd party software options. It took years, but MS finally lost their antitrust suit due in large part to that fact.
For some reason the fanboi barristers (more likely baristas) here advocate against the user and for Timmy. Then in the next article they bitch about everything Timmy does and the price of stuff.
Unchecked corporate power ruins free markets, no matter how much you pretend your company is a special exception. The Mac is the correct model, giving the hardware owner control of his computing world. iOS is just as evil as MS ever was, you’re simply too blind to see it. Read US antitrust regulations, mr british lawyer.
I never said “monopoly”, genius.
.
I wish I could take back every vote I gave Schumer years ago. I’ve come to really, really, dislike him and just about everything he does while in office.
MacRaven: He is a poster boy for crookedness and vile dealings; both is his appearance, behavior, and in reality. Congratulations on seeing through the film-flammery and evil he has wrought and used to punish gentler people who attempt to block his cruel actions towards his rivals.
I’m thinking these days that about 90-95% of the CongressCritters are slimebalms and grifters. And that includes both parties. Thomas Jefferson warned that political parties would destroy the country that the founders had built.
should have been “slimeballs”
Darned auto-correction!
Don’t worry, corrupt politicians regularly apply loads of slime balm to their palms. That’s why they’re such slippery scum bags.
Yes partisanship is killing the USA. So stop already.
You’re upset that Schumer worked with Manchin to finally draft a spending bill that includes deficit reduction and long overdue infrastructure investments? Why? It took way too long but in the end Mr. Coal was able to compromise with Mr. Wall St.
You’re upset that Schumer worked with Young to sponsor a microchip redomestication bill? Okay, sure, it rewards greedy corporate traitors who not only spent the last 40 years pushing production to Asia, but also leaked their IP to your one of your favorite communist countries in exchange for short-term kickbacks. But What is your solution? The prior administration tweeted a lot but did nothing like this.
Schumer isn’t the problem. The problem is both parties are completely owned by corporations that prioritize executive enrichment over any principles the clearheaded* citizens prefer.
clearheaded, meaning thoughtful educated moderates who place national prosperity and pragmatic positive principles ahead of party. Not Sam/Becky/First
https://reason.com/2022/07/26/poll-tech-regulation-should-focus-on-privacy-and-security-not-breaking-up-big-tech-companies/
https://reason.com/2022/07/21/both-democrats-and-republicans-want-to-break-up-big-tech-consumers-would-pay-the-price/
https://reason.com/2022/06/17/a-bipartisan-tech-antitrust-bill-may-soon-pass-its-still-a-bad-idea/
While you may or may not like Schumer, this bill is TERRIBLE.
Curious why people would downvote my comment. Do people on this blog really think this bill is a good bill?
As imperfect as most legislation is, this bill is not bad. It is necessary and long overdue to curb the unchecked power these few companies have over the internet, including Apple. It isn’t hard to see the corruption. Follow the money and the misinformation spreaders. Companies must be held accountable.