Last month, an antitrust law overhaul was proposed: the Competition and Antitrust Law Enforcement Reform Act. CLERA constitutes the most significant change to antitrust law in ahwhile. In particular, it poses substantial new antitrust concerns for tech companies seeking to engage in standard M&As.
Sec. 2: Findings and Purposes Congress finds that: Competition results in higher-quality goods and services; Competition fosters small business growth, reduces economic inequality and spurs innovation; Market power in the U.S. is substantial and growing; Market power makes it difficult for people to start their own business, depresses wages and increases income inequality; Market concentration contributes to the concentration of political power; Anticompetitive effects include higher prices, lower quality, lessened choice, reduced innovation, foreclosure of competitors and entry barriers; Monopsony power allows a firm to force suppliers to accept below-market prices or force workers to accept below-market wages; Horizontal and vertical consolidation and conglomerate mergers have potential to increase market power and cause anticompetitive harm;
To embed, copy and paste the code into your website or blog: The election of Joseph R. Biden Jr. as president of the United States and Democratic control of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate mean that the private sector can expect to be the main focus of congressional oversight and investigations in the new 117th Congress. Democrats will set the floor agenda, chair the committees, and control the nominations process in the Senate. And the Biden administration compared to its predecessor poses an unappealing target for Democratic investigative committees. All of this adds up to intensified congressional scrutiny on industry and the private sector.