Coalition Voices Dissent on Antitrust Bills, NYC Communities to Receive Free Broadband, Tesla Stock Takes Hit in Twitter Wake
Letter claims antitrust bills would cost the economy $319 billion.
Benjamin Kahn
April 27, 2022 – A coalition of organizations penned a joint letter Wednesday to reflect their dissent of recently announced antitrust bills making their way through Congress.
The letter was addressed to congressional leadership, including Senate Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-NY, Speaker of the House Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif, Chair of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and the Chairman of the House Committee of the Judiciary Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-NY-10, and voiced concerns over four bills.
Members of the group included Americans for Prosperity, the Computer and Communications Industry Association, the Consumer Technology Association, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, the US Hispanic Business Council, and others, and they argued that the bills would collectively cost the economy $319 billion though higher retail costs passed along to consumers.
The four bills in question are the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (S2992), the House equivalent American Choice and Innovation Online Act (HR3816), the Ending Platform Monopolies Act (HR3825), and the Platform Competition and Opportunity Act of 2021 (HR3826).
The authors of the letter condemned the “simplistic language” of the bills and argued that though the bills intended to primarily impact dominant tech companies such at Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Apple, they will impact more unintended targets as time goes on.
“[The bill’s reliance] market capitalization means that more American companies would be captured in just a few years: 13 additional companies in the next 5 to 10 years and likely over 100 companies by the 2030s,” the letter read.
The letter concluded by stating that these bills would overall make it more challenging for US based companies to compete on the global stage, and stifle would-be American startups.
New York communities to get broadband at no cost to the consumer
Residents of the New York City Housing Authority’s Upper East Side public housing complexes – Isaacs Houses and Holmes Tower – are set to receive free broadband thanks to a “first-of-its-kind initiative” touted by Manhattan Councilwoman Julie Menin.
Menin referred to the lack of affordable broadband connectivity in the city as “outrageous” and “shocking,” the New York Daily News reported. “Not having access to broadband is not OK,” Menin said.
Menin is scheduled to fully unveil the program at the Stanley Isaacs Center at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday.
Tesla takes hit in wake of Twitter deal
Following Twitter’s announcement that it would accept Elon Musk’s offer of $44 billion in cash, Tesla stock nosedived Tuesday morning. As of Wednesday, Tesla’s stock was trading around $100 less than the previous day – around a ten percent drop.
Musk, who is the CEO of Tesla, would be responsible to cover $21 billion of the $44 billion and it is currently unclear how he will come up with the remaining $23 billion – whether that is selling his own shares in Tesla, bringing on additional investment, or borrowing against his existing shares.
According to Business Insider, around 80 percent of Musk’s wealth is tied up in Tesla stock.
