Divestitures an Antitrust Option Against Platforms, Says Analyst
A common theme at Monday’s Yelp policy conference was the call for DOJ and the FTC to “undo prior acquisitions like WhatsApp, Instagram and YouTube,” Cowen's Paul Gallant wrote Tuesday. Antitrust critics of Google, Amazon and Facebook appeared at Yelp’s…
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Conference on Antitrust Law and Technology (see 1805140035). They pitched a Microsoft-like lawsuit against tech giants and called for tougher regulators, not tougher antitrust laws, Gallant wrote. He also noted Capitol Hill support for antitrust action hasn't been visible the way it was when Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee and supported DOJ efforts to bring a case against Microsoft in the late 1990s. Hatch at the event defended the case (see 1805140035). Gallant was “most struck” by calls for internet platforms to divest recent acquisitions, as DOJ Antitrust Chief Makan Delrahim “has stressed that divestitures, not behavioral remedies, are the right way to fix competitive problems.” Divestitures would be an aggressive remedy, but the analyst isn't ruling it out, given Delrahim’s comments.