Exclusive: Big Tech Spent Over $30 Billion Acquiring Companies While Regulators Tried to Reel Them In – AppleTV 4 Jailbreak (appletv4jailbreak.com)
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Big tech companies have spared no expense gobbling up competitors in recent years even as lawmakers hammer out historic antitrust legislation intended to curb their most anti-competitive impulses.
That’s according to a new report The Tech Oversight project shared exclusively with Gizmodo, which claims Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, and Apple combined spent at least $32 billion on acquisitions since 2019. Even if that figure sounds large, it’s almost certainly far less than the true amount tech firms spent, since the financial details surrounding large chunks of acquisitions since 2019 remain unknown to the public. The findings come as lawmakers in the House and Senate desperately work to push forward a vote on two pieces of key antitrust legislation before the November 2022 midterms.
In the report, The Oversight Project accused leading tech firms of using their dominant presence to, “either capture or kill competitors in the marketplace.” Those tactics, the report argues, are all the more reason for lawmakers to support the American Innovation and Choice Online Act, and the Open App Markets Act, two bills supported by a wide range of tech critics and utterly despised by Big Tech.
Amazon stood out among its tech peers in the report, reportedly spending at least $16 billion on 19 acquisitions over the past three years. Google owner Alphabet trailed behind, reportedly spending at least $11.87 billion to acquire 25 companies. Meta and Apple, on the other hand, spent significantly less with the report estimating the two poured $2.51 billion and $1.62 billion into acquisitions respectively. Four of the 19, or around 20%, of the companies Apple acquired involved virtual or augmented reality, a potential sign it’s ramping up efforts to deliver a long rumored virtual reality headset.
“To curb Big Tech’s most predatory practices, passing antitrust legislation is a realistic first step that we need to take,” Tech Oversight Project Executive Director Sacha Haworth said in a statement. “We need Senate Majority Leader Schumer to fulfill his promise and bring the package to a vote, so we can also advance the laundry list of legislative items needed to protect businesses, families, and children and teens from companies that have abused and profited at their expense.’
Big Tech’s bold acquisition plan has played out most brazenly in recent months via one company in particular: Amazon. In less than three months, Amazon announced its intention to acquire concierge healthcare provider OneMedical, Roomba maker iRobot, and warehouse robotics company Cloostermans. Though Amazon didn’t disclose financial terms for Cloostermans, the OneMedical and iRobot deals combined are worth $5.6 billion.
“In the post-Roe world, the uptick in health care and surveillance acquisitions is frankly disgusting and paints a dystopian picture for what digital competition and privacy will look like if Big Tech remains unchecked,” Haworth said. “We…
https://gizmodo.com/amazon-google-apple-antitrust-meta-acquisition-1849546460
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