"This is the first significant antitrust investigation undertaken by Congress in decades," Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., the subcommittee's chairman, said at the start of the hearing. At the same time, he said, tech platforms that are gateways to news online "have operated with virtual immunity from the antitrust laws." As a partial solution, Cicilline proposed legislation to establish an antitrust exemption that would allow news companies to band together to negotiate revenue rates with big tech platforms. However, an antitrust exemption for the news industry wouldn't solve the problem, said Matt Schruer, vice president of the Computer and Communications Industry Association. Trump noted the huge fines imposed by European regulators on the biggest tech companies.

Source: ABC News June 11, 2019 15:43 UTC