Antitrust rumbling

Hi, it’s Naomi in New York. The antitrust battle in Washington is heating up. But first…Today’s top tech news: Google is forming a blockchai [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Hi, it’s Naomi in New York. The antitrust battle in Washington is heating up. But first… Today’s top tech news: - Google is forming a [blockchain group]( - A Tom Brady NFT startup [raised $170 million]( - The Microsoft-Activision deal [wiped $20 billion]( off Sony’s market cap Battle lines It’s a familiar fight. For years, small- and medium-sized business have argued that they can’t compete on the platforms and app stores run by companies like Apple, Google and Amazon. The Silicon Valley giants, for their part, argue that their rules are fair and their services provide huge value to Main Street businesses. Who’s winning? This week it looks like the smaller tech companies have the upper hand in Washington—at least for now. The latest drama stemmed from a [bill]( authored by Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar and Republican Senator Chuck Grassley that is scheduled for a [hearing]( on Thursday. The measure aims to prohibit companies such as Apple Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Meta Platforms Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google from giving priority to their own products on their platforms. It would also block them from using non-public data obtained from companies using their platforms in order to buttress their own competing products. A coalition of smaller tech players including Patreon, Yelp and DuckDuckGo have [backed]( the bill, arguing that dominant technology companies have made it difficult for other businesses to compete in the digital marketplace because they give themselves preferential treatment and access on their platforms. On Wednesday, in a roughly hour-long debrief, a group including the chief executives of Yelp and Sonos Inc. argued the same to White House advisers, [Bloomberg reported](. Apple and Google have said that the legislative proposal would hurt their ability to maintain the security and privacy of their services and consequently harm consumers. As my colleague Anna Edgerton [pointed out](, the bill has an impressive array of bipartisan cosponsors but has yet to get much attention from congressional leaders who would schedule it for a vote in the Democratic-led House and Senate. And while the White House appears interested in building consensus for the measure, it so far doesn’t plan to openly endorse the legislation, Bloomberg has reported. This idea that smaller businesses are forced to play by unfair rules set by major technology platforms in order to reach customers is gaining traction. More than three dozen state attorneys general last year sued Google arguing that the company makes it hard for developers to go outside the Google Play store to reach users, but then collects an “extravagant” commission. Washington D.C. attorney General Karl Racine sued Amazon over its third-party marketplace. Other state attorneys general and the Lina Khan-led Federal Trade Commission have recently been raising questions about how Meta’s Oculus division is handling third-party developers selling programs on its headsets. The antitrust push has been long-gestating, but its greatest impacts may be yet to come. —[Naomi Nix](mailto:nnix1@bloomberg.net) If you read one thing There’s a land grab underway in the metaverse. The Activision Blizzard acquisition says a lot about [Microsoft’s strategy](. Here’s what you need to know Crypto.com said 400 accounts [were affected]( in a breach. The Intel CEO urged lawmakers “not to waste this crisis” in [chip manufacturing](. A labor group representing Uber and Lyft drivers is selling an NFT depicting gig economy companies as [a big rat](. More than 900 tech startups are worth over $1 billion. The [New York Times]( surveyed the signals of market froth. Follow Us More from Bloomberg Dig gadgets or video games? [Sign up for Power On]( to get Apple scoops, consumer tech news and more in your inbox on Sundays. [Sign up for Game On]( to go deep inside the video game business, delivered on Fridays. Why not try both? Like Fully Charged? | [Get unlimited access to Bloomberg.com](, where you'll find trusted, data-based journalism in 120 countries around the world and expert analysis from exclusive daily newsletters. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Fully Charged newsletter. If a friend forwarded you this message, [sign up here]( to get it in your inbox. [Unsubscribe]( [Bloomberg.com]( [Contact Us]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10022 [Ads Powered By Liveintent]( [Ad Choices](