What you need to know
- President Biden is planning to sign executive orders to stop anticompetitive behavior.
- It includes initiatives that could curb the power of Big Tech and companies like Apple.
President Joe Biden will sign an executive order today designed to stop anticompetitive behavior in numerous sectors including Big Tech, possibly impacting companies like Apple and its iOS App Store.
The White House has posted a fact sheet on the executive order titled 'on Promoting Competition in the American Economy', it states:
The economy is booming under President Biden's leadership. The economy has gained more than three million jobs since the President took office—the most jobs created in the first five months of any presidency in modern history. Today, the President is building on this economic momentum by signing an Executive Order to promote competition in the American economy, which will lower prices for families, increase wages for workers, and promote innovation and even faster economic growth.
Regarding technology specifically the orders will target three areas:
- Greater scrutiny of mergers to stop "killer acquisitions" to shut down competitive threats (Facebook buying Instagram and WhatsApp, for instance)
- Rules on surveillance and the accumulation of data to stop large platforms from gaining unfair opportunities over small businesses who need that data to reach customers
- Rules barring unfair methods of competition on internet marketplaces including displaying "copycat products more prominently than the small businesses' products"
President Biden will sign the order later today.
Just a few days ago Biden called on the FTC to introduce new 'Right to Repair' rules in the US:
U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to direct the United States Federal Trade Commission to create new 'Right to Repair' rules that could impact companies like Apple.As reported by Bloomberg, the order is expected to include "mobile phone manufacturers." If included, Apple may need to open more repair options to both third-party repair shops and customers themselves.
