Thomas Massie takes over key antitrust panel as GOP girds for Big Tech battle

The Washington Times ^ | Jan 30 | By Ryan Lovelace

[RandFan]

Rep. Thomas Massie is taking charge of the House’s influential panel for antitrust policy, putting the Kentucky Republican known as a fierce free-market defender in a key position to determine how the GOP pursues a crackdown against Big Tech companies.

Mr. Massie succeeds Rep. Ken Buck, Colorado Republican, a stalwart Big Tech critic who previously worked on the House Judiciary Committee with Democrats on legislation aimed at diminishing major companies’ market dominance. The subcommittee is part of the judiciary panel, on which both members serve.

“I’m looking forward to chairing the Subcommittee on the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform and Antitrust,” Mr. Massie tweeted on Friday.

The move was celebrated by free-market advocates and decried by conservatives who favor a more activist government antitrust crackdown on tech companies such as Facebook, Amazon and Google.

Competitiveness Coalition Chairman Scott Brown, former GOP senator from Massachusetts, cheered Mr. Massie’s elevation as a setback for defenders of big government.

“As someone who knows that more competition, rather than more government, is the driver of economic growth, Chairman Massie is a superb choice, and we commend [Judiciary Committee] Chairman Jim Jordan for his selection,” Mr. Brown said in a statement. “Make no mistake: The creeping hostility toward free enterprise in certain Republican circles and lawmakers is a dangerous trend. We have come to expect these types of attitudes from the left, but they have no place among conservatives.”

Mr. Massie has long opposed government intervention as the best answer to breaking up Big Tech power.

[Brian Griffin]

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[Zathras]

Every Silicon Valley employee is trained how to avoid Anti-Trust.
I had training every year on how a small mistake could destroy everything.

This normally only applies to any company controlling more than 50% of a market.
This definitely applies to Facebook/Meta,
Intel, Apple, Microsoft and Google.

[Brian Griffin]

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