Top Democrat Slams Tech’s ‘Devastating’ Effect on Americans

Ben Brody and Naomi Nix, Bloomberg News

Representative David Cicilline, a Democrat from Rhode Island and chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law, speaks during a House Judiciary Subcommittee hearing in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, June 11, 2019. Cicilline has said recently that concentration in the digital markets industry has resulted in anti-competitive behavior, breaches of privacy and consumers losing control of their own data. Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg , Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- A top Democrat in the U.S. House said Thursday that big tech has had a “devastating effect” on everyday Americans.

Speaking at an antitrust conference in Washington, Representative David Cicilline of Rhode Island, who has opened an investigation into tech competition, said Facebook Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google have acquired competitors to corner their markets.

Cicilline, who is also chairman of an antitrust subcommittee, said that Congress has retreated from its active role in shaping antitrust law.

To contact the reporters on this story: Ben Brody in Washington at btenerellabr@bloomberg.net;Naomi Nix in Washington at nnix1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Sara Forden at sforden@bloomberg.net, Mark Niquette