ROCC Co-Founder Amanda Lewis Moderates Hill Staffer Briefing on Increasing Legal Scrutiny on Big Tech

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On November 12, 2024, Amanda Lewis, Responsible Online Commerce Coalition (ROCC) Co-Founder and Director of U.S. Competition Policy, moderated a Hill staffer briefing titled, “Big Tech’s Reckoning: How Courts and Congress Could Shape the Future of the Internet.” The event was co-hosted by the American Economic Liberties Project (AELP) and centered around the increasing legal scrutiny on Big Tech. Other expert panelists included Joseph Jerome, Senior Public Policy Manager at DuckDuckGo, Laurel Kilgour, Research Manager at AELP, Bakari Middleton, Director of Global Public Policy at Epic Games, and Chris Pedigo, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs at Digital Content Next.

Participants of the session discussed current lawsuits as well as the critical role that Congress must play in order to effectively address the Big Tech gatekeepers’ anticompetitive and unfair conduct. Among others, the panelists discussed the Federal Trade Commission’s landmark antitrust suit against Amazon, which recently survived a motion to dismiss. In a decision that represents a significant win for the FTC and the Co-Plaintiff State Attorneys General, the Court ruled against Amazon finding that the “Plaintiffs adequately allege that Amazon’s anti-discounting practices ‘stifle price competition.’” Building on this, “the Court conclude[d] that the Amended Complaint adequately alleges that the challenged discounting practices are anticompetitive for purposes of their Section 2 Sherman Act claim.”