Colorado Congressmen Ken Buck and Joe Neguse team up to take on big tech
Two years after some Colorado business owners shared stories of extortion, threats and retaliation by the nation's biggest tech companies, Congress is taking action.
A bill aimed at curbing the power of Amazon, Google, Apple and Facebook could be on President Joe Biden's desk by the end of the year.
The business owners testified at a hearing by the antitrust subcommittee in Boulder two years ago, saying the tech titans not only stole their ideas in some cases but their customer base. The hearing prompted Rep. Ken Buck, a Republican who represents Colorado's 4th Congressional District, and Rep. Joe Neguse, a Democrat who represents Colorado's 2nd Congressional District, to team up on legislation that passed the House and is expected to come up for debate in the Senate during the lame-duck session.
"I really think of this as a Colorado bill," said Neguse.
The legislation represents the biggest change in antitrust law in decades. It would raise filing fees in big mergers to provide anti-trust regulators more funding to pursue cases, require companies to disclose subsidies from foreign entities like China that pose a threat to the U.S., and allow state attorneys general to pick the venue for cases so big tech doesn't get the Silicon Valley advantage.
"I believed going into that hearing that the market would take care of these businesses," said Buck. "I left that hearing convinced that is not the case. This is not the free market. There's a disincentive to invest in innovation."
While Buck and Neguse sought more aggressive changes -- to prohibit big tech from scooping up rivals and giving their own products and services an unfair advantage -- the tech lobby managed to kill those provisions.
Still, what passed is significant and they suggest a proxy for what's to come.
"From my perspective, these bills are about preserving the free market," said Neguse. "The free market is interfered with by virtue of the market share and the power these monopolies have been able to acquire over time."
While California Democrats and many Republicans are pushing back on the legislation, Neguse and Buck say they have a track record of success. Among other things, they led the fight to make Camp Amache a National Historic Site.
"Joe is a great leader with the Democratic side of the aisle and, when he says he can do something, he's going to get it done," said Buck. "While we have differences, as a Republican and a Democrat, we do everything we can to work together on issues that affect Colorado and America."
Buck and Neguse say they will continue bridging the political divide and reigning-in the gatekeepers of the digital world.
"My constituents, his constituents, expect us to roll up our sleeves and work in good faith with anyone willing to solve a complex problem," said Neguse.
