Tread Carefully When ‘Fixing’ Internet

The United States is poised to increase scrutiny on the nation’s largest internet firms. So far, tougher action has been limited mainly to Europe, where novel interpretations of existing laws and large fines seem to be motivated by a desire to tax American firms. But now the House Judiciary Committee antitrust subcommittee, led by Rhode Island’s U.S. Rep. David Cicilline, has commenced hearings on whether current antitrust policy needs to be toughened. The Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission will also be looking more closely at internet platforms, and the issue has even affected the upcoming presidential election, with Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren putting forward a plan to break up big tech. As Joe Kennedy writes for the Providence Journal, there are four core principles policymakers should keep in mind when directing antitrust scrutiny toward Internet companies.