Congressman Cicilline just laid the smack down on big tech companies – The Boston Globe

ICYMI:RhodeIsland was up to 25,596 confirmed coronavirus cases on Tuesday, after adding 145 new cases. The most recent first-time, test-positive rate was 5.6 percent. The state announced four more deaths, bringing the total to 1,125. There were 93 people in the hospital, eight in intensive care, and four were on ventilators.

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U.S. RepresentativeDavid Cicillinesantitrust subcommittee released a449-page reportTuesday that makes the case that the worlds largest tech companies (think Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google)are operating monopoliesand that sweeping reforms should be enacted to limit their ability to swallow up competitors.

The report, released after a 16-month investigation that included the high-profile testimonyof the top tech executivesearlier this year, concludes that the dominance of the largest companies have allowed them to run the marketplace (like e-commerce) while also competing in it, giving them an unfair advantage.

The report recommends that laws be approved or changed to impose structural separations and prohibitions of certain dominant platforms from operating in adjacent lines of business and potentially prevent them from future mergers or acquisitions that would grow their monopolies. The committee also wants to strengthen antitrust laws and invest in enforcement.

To put it simply, companies that once were scrappy, underdog startups that challenged the status quo have become the kinds of monopolies we last saw in the era of oil barons and railroad tycoons, the report states.

In a telephone interview Tuesday evening, Cicilline said the thing that surprised him most during the investigation was the level of data collection and surveillance by the major tech companies. He said he didnt fully appreciate the magnitude of the problem at the beginning of the probe.

They are collecting and monetizing and weaponizing an enormous amount of personal data, Cicilline said.

The report has already been met with fierce opposition from the companies. In a blog post on Tuesday, Amazon criticized regulatory spit-balling on antitrust, arguing that some of the ideas being kicked about would have the primary effect of forcing millions of independent retailers out of online stores.

Cicilline fired back, suggesting that all of these platforms have a very substantial financial interest in protecting the status quo.

Cicilline also downplayed what appears to beRepublican oppositionto the recommendations, noting that Democrats and Republicans on the committee agree on the majority of reports findings. But no Republican agreed to sign on to the report, and at least three of them released their own report.

And while he acknowledged that the outcome of next months election will play a major role in determining whether the committees recommendations ever become law, Cicilline said he believes the shared set of facts among members of both parties is a sign of progress.

Thats a very different place from where we were a year or two ago, Cicilline said.

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THE GLOBE IN RHODE ISLAND

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If your head is spinning when reading about the Britt trial, youre not alone. Heres my attempt toanswer many of the questionsyou might be too afraid to ask.

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