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posted by mrpg on Tuesday September 25 2018, @11:31AM   Printer-friendly
from the mary-is-merry-cause-she's-gonna-marry dept.

White House considering launching an antitrust probe on Google and Facebook:

The growing tension between U.S. President Donald Trump and large internet companies is not likely to peter out anytime soon. A draft executive order that could potentially target Google, Facebook, and other social media companies with an antitrust case is said to be in the early stages of work.

The draft order, obtained by Bloomberg, is meant to authorize federal regulators and law enforcers to investigate the business practices of the internet giants for potential antitrust violations. It is worth pointing out, however, that the draft is not official yet and has not been formed as part of the White House's policy-making process, according to Lindsey Walters, deputy White House press secretary.

Additionally, it has not been reviewed yet by any government agency. But once the draft is signed, specific government agencies are mandated within a month to provide recommendations for actions intended to uphold "competition among online platforms and address online platform bias." It doesn't specify the names of the companies, however.


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  • (Score: 2) by takyon on Tuesday September 25 2018, @02:25PM

    by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Tuesday September 25 2018, @02:25PM (#739684) Journal

    Is the probe meant to collect evidence? Will it do so? If yes, then there should be no problem. These aren't the kind of companies that are just going to be bullied out of existence. Worst case scenario (for them), President Trump calls for a mass boycott of these companies. Google users will continue using Google services, and Facebook users will continue using Instagram.

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