Will New Federal Laws Affect Antitrust Litigation?

When business owners face issues that threaten their ability to compete in the marketplace, they may be able to pursue business litigation against other companies that have engaged in unfair or deceptive business practices. Antitrust litigation may be appropriate in situations where a company has engaged in illegal actions such as price-fixing, bid-rigging, exclusive purchase agreements, or predatory pricing. Since the federal laws that apply to these issues have not been updated in several decades, it can be difficult to address anti-competitive behavior in the modern marketplace. However, the U.S. Congress is currently considering a number of new laws that may update antitrust regulations in the era of big tech.

Potential Changes to Antitrust Laws

In 2021, lawmakers introduced several pieces of bipartisan legislation that would affect tech companies. These laws include:

• The American Innovation and Choice Online Act - This law would prevent large companies and online platforms from taking actions that would negatively affect smaller companies, such as the owner of an online platform putting a preference on their own products. For example, Amazon has been accused of prioritizing the products it produces over products sold on its platform by other companies. This law would limit the ability of large platforms to set prices and policies that affect other businesses' ability to earn sufficient revenue.
• The Platform Competition and Opportunity Act - This law would limit the ability of large companies to purchase rival companies that could be seen as threats to their market position. Before these types of acquisitions could be made, companies will have to show that they would not limit competition in the marketplace. Restrictions on these types of acquisitions would keep online platforms from entrenching their positions in the marketplace, reducing competition, and lowering the quality of products and services.
• The Ending Platform Monopolies Act - This law would prevent companies from both owning a platform and offering services on the platform that competes with others. If passed, it could result in large companies such as Google or Amazon being broken up into smaller companies.
• The Augmenting Compatibility and Competition by Enabling Service Switching (ACCESS) Act - This law would require online platforms such as social networks to allow customers to more easily move data to other platforms. By requiring "data portability," this would give consumers more choices and promote competition in the marketplace.
• The Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act - This law would increase the filing fees for large mergers in which companies are valued at more than $1 billion, which would provide federal agencies with more resources for regulation and enforcement of antitrust laws.

While these laws will mostly affect how regulatory agencies such as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will be able to prosecute companies for violations of antitrust laws, companies that are negatively affected by anti-competitive business practices may have more options for addressing these issues. Antitrust litigation may become more feasible for certain companies that are looking to stop unfair business practices and recover compensation for the harm they have suffered due to these types of violations.

Contact Our Broward County Antitrust Litigation Lawyer

While it remains to be seen how the marketplace may change, business owners should be aware of the possibility that new laws could affect how antitrust cases are handled. If you have been the victim of illegal business practices, The Elliot Legal Group, P.A. can help you understand your legal options for pursuing litigation against another company, addressing violations of antitrust laws, and securing compensation for your losses. To schedule a consultation with our Hollywood, FL business litigation attorney, contact our office today at 754-332-2101.

Sources:

https://qz.com/2020152/congresss-antitrust-bills-empower-regulators-to-take-on-big-tech/

https://www.axios.com/2021/06/11/congress-bills-dismantle-tech-giants

https://jayapal.house.gov/2021/06/11/antitrust-legislation/