Tech antitrust bills create strange bedfellows in House markup

An hours-long House Judiciary Committee markup Wednesday created unusual bipartisan alliances both for and against a package of bills targeting some of the country’s biggest tech companies.

The committee had advanced two of the six bills as of early Wednesday evening, with proceedings expected to stretch late into the night.

The six bills aim to revamp antitrust laws, giving the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Justice Department greater authority to rein in the power of tech giants.

Lawmakers did not firmly support or oppose all of the bills, with some crossing the aisle at times.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) wants to know more about how Amazon and Alphabet approach interoperability in connection with their smart-home devices and protect the user data that they collect.

In letters sent to each of the tech giant’s CEOs Wednesday, the chair of the Senate Judiciary subcommittee overseeing antitrust said that testimony by the companies’ attorneys during a hearing last week had left her with worries.

“I am deeply concerned about competition and the future of innovation related to connected home devices,” Klobuchar wrote.