[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

                              ----------                              
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

                              ----------                              

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

                              ----------                              

  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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