New guidelines from U.S. antitrust enforcers signal tougher reviews of mergers involving Big Tech firms like Amazon.com and Alphabet’s Google.
The Biden administration is taking a firmer stance on mergers and has recently faced two court losses. More challenges are expected in the coming months, including the Justice Department’s opposition to JetBlue’s purchase of Spirit.
The guidelines, spanning 51 pages and issued by the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission, imply that deals like Amazon.com’s 2018 acquisition of video doorbell Ring should face greater scrutiny.
The draft guidelines state, “A platform operator that is also a platform participant has a conflict of interest from the incentive to give its own products and services an advantage against other competitors participating on the platform, harming competition.”
The draft also specifies that a merger should not eliminate a potential competitor in a concentrated market or result in a situation where a company buys a supplier of its competitors.
The Biden administration’s antitrust enforcement efforts have focused on labor issues, which are reflected in the guidelines.
The guidelines state, “Where a merger between employers may substantially lessen competition for workers, that reduction in labor market competition may lower wages or slow wage growth, worsen benefits or working conditions.”
The guidelines align with the current approach of the FTC and Justice Department in combating illegal mergers. They will replace the 2010 guidelines related to companies purchasing competitors and the 2020 guidelines pertaining to companies merging with suppliers.
In a mid-2021 executive order, President Joe Biden called for the updating of these guidelines. There will be a 60-day period for public comment before their finalization.
Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Richard Chang
Credit: The Star : Tech Feed
