Press Releases

Washington, D.C. - Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) delivered the following opening remarks, as prepared, during the markup of H.R. 3825, the Ending Platform Monopolies Act:

"H.R. 3825, the 'Ending Platform Monopolies Act,' prevents dominant online platforms from leveraging their monopoly power to distort or destroy competition in markets that rely on that platform. 

"Online platforms provide valuable services to business users and consumers. They enable businesses to reach customers around the world. They allow consumers to access a nearly unlimited array of goods and services with a simple swipe or click. 

"However, as our investigation has shown, the largest online platforms can abuse this power. In some cases, these firms have dual roles in the market—they operate as both the channel for online commerce, and they compete directly against businesses that rely on the platform to reach customers or consumers in the market.

"By operating as both the platform and as a competitor on the platform, these firms often possess an irreconcilable conflict of interest enabling them to harm competition by preferencing their own products and harming rivals. 

"Inevitably, these conflicts of interest, and the anticompetitive conduct they incentivize and enable, distort and destroy competition. They reduce incentives for small businesses and entrepreneurs to take risks and they rob consumers of choices.

"H.R. 3825 authorizes the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice to take action to eliminate these conflicts of interest, providing a structural solution to the structural problems that impair competition online.

"This bipartisan legislation would help bring more choices to consumers and would help small businesses focus on improving their products and serving customers rather than on avoiding discrimination by the platform. 

"I thank Congresswoman Jayapal and Congressman Gooden for introducing this important legislation, and I urge all Members to support it."