US lawmakers submit a new bill called “Monopolization Deterrence Act” to impose more penalties on companies such as Facebook
U.S. Democratic Senators Amy Klobuchar and Richard Blumenthal are launching a new bill called the “Monopolization Deterrence Act”. The bill is actually aimed at American technology giants such as Facebook, Apple, Google, and Amazon. Members believe that the current punishment is still not enough.
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For example, the recent settlement between Facebook and the US Federal Trade Commission is a fine of $5 billion, which does not matter for Facebook with an annual income of $55.8 billion. Even after Facebook paid a $5 billion fine, Facebook’s share price has grown substantially. Obviously, investors also believe that the $5 billion reconciliation is worth it. Because these lawmakers believe that the current punitive measures can not suppress the monopoly of the giants, it is necessary to introduce a new deterrent to deter monopolistic behavior.
If the newly submitted monopoly deterrence bill is passed, the penalties faced by these US tech giants will increase dramatically and the penalties will be more effective. According to the proposed bill, regulators can impose fines on companies that are considered to have monopolistic behaviors at 15% of their total annual revenue in the US market. So if this plan is passed, the situation will be even worse for these tech giants.
At present, the potential companies that will be punished are actually the four giants of Facebook, Apple, Amazon, and Google. Microsoft seems to have not been investigated yet.
Via: Apple Insider