Rep. Johnson explores antitrust law in digital marketplace
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Hank Johnson (GA-04), Chair of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts and Competition Policy, today presided over a hearing focused on competition and the law in the evolving digital marketplace.
The hearing was the latest in a series of Courts and Competition Policy hearings Rep. Johnson initiated entitled “An Antitrust System for the 21st Century.”
“While these markets currently appear fluid and competitive, sustained anticompetitive behavior by companies with market power could potentially choke off competition, slowing innovation, and raising prices and reducing options for consumers,” said Johnson.
“Antitrust enforcement needs a balance, like holding the reins of a horse – hold them too tightly and the horse stops. Hold them too loosely and the horse goes out of control.”
The hearing touched on a host of issues - from application developer restrictions, to the advertising market, to potential harms and possible efficiencies from vertical acquisitions.
Underlying the hearing was what level of antitrust enforcement is appropriate in the emerging digital marketplace?
“In the current economic climate, it is more important than ever that we do everything we can to nurture competition without crushing the engines of commerce that drive our economy,” said Rep. Johnson.
“We’re here to partner with business, not be their nanny.”
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