United States of America: Introduced Ending Platform Monopolies Act in US Antitrust Law

On 11 June 2021, the Ending Platform Monopolies Act is introduced to the House (H.R. 3825), which will force platforms to sell any line of business that has a business relationship with the platform itself. Under the bill, designated platform operators may not own a stake in a business that utilises their platform for the sale of their products, that sells a product or service which the platform requires business users to purchase for access or preferential placement on its platform or that would give rise to any other conflict of interest. The platforms covered under this bill would be designated by the Federal Trade Commission or the Department of Justice. Criteria for the designation include platforms with more than 50 million US-based users, more than 100'000 US-based business users, a market capitalisation of more than USD 600 billion or a critical trading partner for any good sold via its platform.