Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google and Microsoft are targeted in the measure, AJR 24, which urges Becerra “to work with other attorneys general to investigate and collect evidence, and provide that information to the Legislature to inform our next steps to amend California’s antitrust statutes.”
AJR 24 is a part of the Assembly Republican-led “Your Data, Your Way” privacy package, unveiled earlier this year. Other elements of that bill would strengthen consumer privacy, among other things.
The Washington Post reported this week that a group of state AGs will unveil their proposed federal anti-trust legislation Monday in Washington, D.C.
The California measure is sponsored by Assemblymembers Jordan Cunningham, R-San Luis Obispo; James Gallagher, R-Yuba City; Tom Lackey, R-Palmdale; and Chad Mayes, R-Yucca Valley.
“Federal antitrust laws are ill-equipped to take on modern monopolies that quash competition and innovation without increasing prices,” Cunningham said in a news release. “There is bipartisan agreement in Congress that 20th century antitrust laws may need to be updated. It is our hope that Congress continues to push forward, but we need action here at the state level, as well. We encourage Attorney General Becerra to work with other attorneys general to investigate and collect evidence and provide that information to the Legislature to inform our next steps to amend California’s antitrust statutes.”
The California-based tech giants generally donate to the political campaigns of Democrats. CalMatters.org reported Wednesday that Amazon, Facebook, Google and Microsoft have donated a combined $1.75 million to Democratic candidates, the Democratic Party and its arms, and campaigns led by Democrats since 2015. The four have given $496,000 to Republican candidates and the state GOP during that period. Apple hasn’t made state donations during that period.
In an opinion essay that appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle in January, sponsor Cunningham wrote: “Silicon Valley has become as central to California’s identity as surfing and the Beach Boys. It’s driven our economy to become the world’s fifth-largest. It improves the lives of people around the globe and connects us in ways we never thought possible. But there’s a catch. ...”
The Republicans' resolution “could have been ripped from the playbook of Progressive trust-busters from a century ago,” CalMatters says. “Whether it comes to a vote this late in the session remains to be determined. Democrats, who have been critical of many tech company practices, would be hard-pressed to oppose it.”
Among other supporters is James P. Steyer, chief executive for Common Sense Media.
“The imbalance of power in tech is not just bad for business; it’s bad for our kids,” said Steyer, whose brother Tom Steyer is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination.
The Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy also supports the measure.
“It is critical for us to hold these massive modern-day monopolies accountable to the communities from which they profit,” said Roxana Tynan, the alliance’s executive director. The resolution notes that the matter of regulating Big Tech crosses partisan lines in Congress. Among those calling out “platform gatekeepers” is Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., chairman of the House Committee on the Judiciary’s Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law.
Among the “whereas” clauses in AJR 24 is this one: “Whereas, the Democratic chair of the subcommittee [Cicilline] has stated about the investigation, 'After four decades of weak antitrust enforcement and judicial hostility to antitrust cases, it is vital for Congress to step in to determine whether existing laws are adequate to tackle abusive conduct by platform gatekeepers or if we need new legislation.’”
The resolution notes that:
— Google accounted for about 63 percent of Web searches in the U.S. as of April
— 79 percent of Americans used Facebook as of June 2017
— Amazon is believed to account for almost 50 percent of all American online shopping as of this year
The measure points out that Congress has passed three major antitrust laws — the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 and, in 1914, the Federal Trade Commission Antitrust Act and the Clayton Antitrust Act. It notes that while those laws protected consumers in the 19th and 20th centuries, they “may be ill-equipped to preserve a competitive marketplace in the digital age of the 21st century.”
California, the resolution notes, already has laws in place “that similarly protect and promote free-market competition” — the Cartwright Act, the Unfair Practices Act and the Unfair Competition Law.
The federal government has already agreed to divide responsibility for antitrust enforcement. The U.S. Department of Justice will oversee antitrust investigations relating to Apple and Google. The Federal Trade Commission oversees Facebook and Amazon antitrust issues.
The resolution, which was approved by the Assembly Banking and Finance Committee, calls on Becerra to monitor Cicilline’s subcommittee and federal law enforcement and to make recommendations on what California and other states can do “to curb the monopolistic powers of giant technology companies.”
