Hawley, who accuses the biggest social media companies of
stifling conservative voices, also criticized other sectors,
like pharmaceuticals, which he said were too concentrated and
held too much market power.
His new bill would effectively ban Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp,
Amazon.com Inc, Alphabet Inc's Google and Facebook Inc from any
deals and would attempt to stop their platforms from favoring
their own products over those of rivals.
Hawley's bill tackles some of the same problems as an antitrust
bill introduced by Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar in February,
and contains some similar measures.
Asked about Klobuchar's bill, Hawley said, "I'm willing to work
with her and anybody of any party and any background. I like a
lot of what Senator Klobuchar has proposed."
He described his bill as "significantly tougher."
In the House of Representatives, Representative David Cicilline
has said he plans to introduce a series of antitrust bills.
Hawley was also asked if he would support tech critic Lina Khan,
a progressive who has been nominated to be a commissioner on the
Federal Trade Commission, which works with the Justice
Department to enforce antitrust law. Hawley said he was "very
impressed" by her but added, "I have not made a final decision."
(Reporting by Diane Bartz in Washington; Editing by Matthew
Lewis)
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