Biden signs sweeping order to boost competition

President Joe Biden signed a sweeping executive order Friday aimed at improving competition across the American economy. Here’s a quick look at how the order – which specifically mentions tech as an area that enforcement should focus on – could affect the industry:

–ANTITRUST: The order calls on the Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department to vigorously enforce existing laws and stresses that both regulators can go back and challenge consummated mergers (think Facebook’s acquisition of WhatsApp and Instagram).

FTC chair Lina Khan, who joined Biden for the signing, and the DOJ’s acting antitrust chief Richard Powers released a statement Friday saying that current merger guidelines “deserve a hard look.”

–RIGHT TO REPAIR: The FTC is also being asked to promulgate rules giving customers more right to repair devices either themselves or at third party shops.

Tech companies like Apple, Microsoft and Google have opposed right-to-repair legislation that would force them to share internal repair guides for years and keep consumers reliant on them for fixes.

“Tech and other companies impose restrictions on self and third-party repairs, making repairs more costly and time-consuming, such as by restricting the distribution of parts, diagnostics, and repair tools,” the White House said in a fact sheet on the order.

–NET NEUTRALITY: Biden’s order encourages the Federal Communications Commission to bring back the Obama-era rules that required internet providers to treat all web traffic equally.

Restoring net neutrality has been a priority for progressive digital rights activists. However, until Biden successfully places a fifth commissioner on the body those efforts are likely to remain stalled.

The order also calls for the FCC to provide more information to consumers about how much they’re actually paying for internet.