[House Prints 117-8, Part III]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
117 Congress } { CP 117-8
COMMITTEE PRINT REPORT
2d Session } { PART III
_______________________________________________________________________
INVESTIGATION OF COMPETITION IN
DIGITAL MARKETS
----------
MAJORITY STAFF REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS
SUBCOMMITTEE ON ANTITRUST,
COMMERCIAL, AND ADMINISTRATIVE LAW
OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY OF
THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PART III
----------
JERROLD NADLER, CHAIR, COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY
DAVID N. CICILLINE, CHAIR, SUBCOMMITTEE ON ANTITRUST,
COMMERCIAL, AND ADMINISTRATIVE LAW
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
ORIGINALLY RELEASED OCTOBER 2020
ADOPTED BY COMMITTEE APRIL 2021
PUBLISHED JULY 2022
INVESTIGATION OF COMPETITION IN DIGITAL MARKETS
PART III
117 Congress } { CP 117-8
COMMITTEE PRINT REPORT
2d Session } {PART III
_______________________________________________________________________
'
INVESTIGATION OF COMPETITION IN
DIGITAL MARKETS
__________
MAJORITY STAFF REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS
SUBCOMMITTEE ON ANTITRUST,
COMMERCIAL, AND ADMINISTRATIVE LAW
OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY OF
THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PART III
__________
JERROLD NADLER, CHAIR, COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY
DAVID N. CICILLINE, CHAIR, SUBCOMMITTEE ON ANTITRUST,
COMMERCIAL, AND ADMINISTRATIVE LAW
ORIGINALLY RELEASED OCTOBER 2020
ADOPTED BY COMMITTEE APRIL 2021
PUBLISHED JULY 2022
______
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
47-834 WASHINGTON : 2022
MAJORITY STAFF
SUBCOMMITTEE ON ANTITRUST, COMMERCIAL,
AND ADMINISTRATIVE LAW
SLADE BOND
Chief Counsel
LINA KHAN
Counsel
PHILLIP BERENBROICK
Counsel
ANNA LENHART
Technologist
JOSEPH EHRENKRANTZ
Special Assistant
AMANDA LEWIS
Counsel on Detail
MARY HELEN WIMBERLY
Counsel on Detail
JOSEPH VAN WYE
Legislative Aide
CATHERINE LARSEN
Special Assistant
COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY
PERRY APELBAUM
Staff Director and Chief
Counsel
AARON HILLER
Deputy Chief Counsel
SHADAWN REDDICK-
SMITH
Communications
Director
JESSICA PRESLEY
Director of Digital
Strategy
MADELINE STRASSER
Chief Clerk
AMY RUTKIN
Chief of Staff
JOHN WILLIAMS
Parliamentarian
DANIEL SCHWARZ
Director of Strategic
Communications
MOH SHARMA
Director of Member
Services and Outreach
& Policy Advisor
JOHN DOTY
Senior Advisor
DAVID GREENGRASS
Senior Counsel
ARYA HARIHARAN
Deputy Chief Oversight
Counsel
MATTHEW ROBINSON
Counsel
KAYLA HAMEDI
Deputy Press Secretary
NATHAN ADAL
Legal Fellow
KARNA ADAM
Legal Fellow
WILLIAM BEKKER
Legal Fellow
KYLE BIGLEY
Legal Fellow
MICHAEL ENSEKI-
FRANK
Legal Fellow
BENJAMIN FEIS
Legal Fellow
CORY GORDON
Legal Fellow
ETHAN GURWITZ
Legal Fellow
DOMENIC POWELL
Legal Fellow
ARMAN RAMNATH
Legal Fellow
REED SHOWALTER
Legal Fellow
JOEL THOMPSON
Legal Fellow
KURT WALTERS
Legal Fellow
KRYSTALYN WEAVER
Legal Fellow
C O N T E N T S
PART I
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I. INTRODUCTION.................................................. 1
A. Chairs' Foreword............................................ 1
B. Executive Summary........................................... 4
1. Subcommittee's Investigation.............................. 4
2. Findings.................................................. 5
3. Recommendations........................................... 13
II. THE INVESTIGATION OF COMPETITION IN DIGITAL MARKETS.......... 14
A. Requests for Information and Submissions.................... 14
1. First-Party Requests for Information...................... 14
2. Process for Obtaining Responses to First-Party Requests... 18
3. Third-Party Requests for Information...................... 18
4. Antitrust Agencies Requests for Information............... 20
B. Hearings.................................................... 21
C. Roundtables................................................. 23
D. Prior Investigations........................................ 24
III. BACKGROUND.................................................. 27
A. Overview of Competition in Digital Markets.................. 27
1. The Role of Competition Online............................ 27
2. Market Structure.......................................... 28
3. Barriers to Entry......................................... 30
B. Effects of Platform Market Power............................ 35
1. Innovation and Entrepreneurship........................... 35
2. Privacy and Data Protection............................... 39
3. The Free and Diverse Press................................ 44
4. Political and Economic Liberty............................ 58
IV. MARKETS INVESTIGATED......................................... 61
A. Online Search............................................... 61
B. Online Commerce............................................. 68
C. Social Networks and Social Media............................ 71
1. Social Networks Are Distinguishable from Social Media..... 73
2. Market Concentration...................................... 74
D. Mobile App Stores........................................... 75
E. Mobile Operating Systems.................................... 82
F. Digital Mapping............................................. 88
G. Cloud Computing............................................. 91
H. Voice Assistant............................................. 100
I. Web Browsers................................................ 105
J. Digital Advertising......................................... 107
V. DOMINANT ONLINE PLATFORMS..................................... 110
A. Facebook.................................................... 110
1. Overview.................................................. 110
2. Social Networking......................................... 111
3. Digital Advertising....................................... 141
B. Google...................................................... 144
1. Overview.................................................. 144
2. Search.................................................... 146
3. Digital Advertisements.................................... 173
4. Android and Google Play Store............................. 177
5. Chrome.................................................... 186
6. Maps...................................................... 193
7. Cloud..................................................... 205
C. Amazon...................................................... 207
1. Overview.................................................. 207
2. Amazon.com................................................ 212
3. Fulfillment and Delivery.................................. 254
4. Alexa's Internet of Things Ecosystem...................... 256
5. Amazon Web Services....................................... 265
D. Apple....................................................... 277
1. Overview.................................................. 277
2. iOS and the App Store..................................... 281
3. Siri Intelligent Voice Assistant.......................... 314
VI. RECOMMENDATIONS.............................................. 317
A. Restoring Competition in the Digital Economy................ 318
1. Reduce Conflicts of Interest Through Structural
Separations and Line of Business Restrictions.............. 319
2. Implement Rules to Prevent Discrimination, Favoritism, and
Self-Preferencing.......................................... 322
3. Promote Innovation Through Interoperability and Open
Access..................................................... 324
4. Reduce Market Power Through Merger Presumptions........... 326
5. Create an Even Playing Field for the Free and Diverse
Press...................................................... 328
6. Prohibit Abuse of Superior Bargaining Power and Require
Due Process................................................ 329
B. Strengthening the Antitrust Laws............................ 330
1. Restore the Antimonopoly Goals of the Antitrust Laws...... 330
2. Invigorate Merger Enforcement............................. 331
3. Rehabilitate Monopolization Law........................... 334
4. Additional Measures to Strengthen the Antitrust Laws...... 337
C. Strengthening Antitrust Enforcement......................... 337
1. Congressional Oversight................................... 337
2. Agency Enforcement........................................ 339
3. Private Enforcement....................................... 341
VII. APPENDIX: MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS BY DOMINANT PLATFORMS.... 343
A. Amazon...................................................... 344
B. Apple....................................................... 346
C. Facebook.................................................... 349
D. Google...................................................... 351
VIII. APPENDIX: ADDITIONAL VIEWS OF MEMBERS OF JUDICIARY
COMMITTEE...................................................... 357
A. The Honorable Eric Swalwell................................. 358
B. The Honorable Zoe Lofgren................................... 359
C. The Honorable Jim Jordan.................................... 362
PART II
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IX. APPENDIX: TRANSCRIPTS OF HEARINGS IN ``ONLINE PLATFORMS AND
MARKET POWER'' SERIES
A. Online Platforms and Market Power, Part 1: The Free and
Diverse Press................................................ 367
B. Online Platforms and Market Power, Part 2: Innovation and
Entrepreneurship............................................. 589
C. Online Platforms and Market Power, Part 3: The Role of Data
and Privacy in Competition................................... 1204
D. Online Platforms and Market Power, Part 4: Perspectives of
the Antitrust Agencies....................................... 1419
PART III
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E. Online Platforms and Market Power, Part 5: Competitors in
the Digital Economy.......................................... 1573
F. Online Platforms and Market Power, Part 6: Examining the
Dominance of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google............. 1709
G. Proposals to Strengthen the Antitrust Laws and Restore
Competition Online........................................... 2695
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