H.R. 3826 would prohibit a large online platform from acquiring another company valued at greater than $50 million unless it can demonstrate that:
The acquisition is already exempt from the federal premerger notification program administered by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ), or
The target company is not in current or potential competition with the platform and the acquisition would not enhance the platform operator’s market position.
The new restrictions would apply to federally designated “covered platforms,” which have at least 50 million active users each month or 100,000 active business users each month, are owned or controlled by a company with a market capitalization or annual sales exceeding $600 billion and have the ability to impede business users from accessing the platform’s customer base.
Under the bill, covered platforms would be designated by the FTC or DOJ, and would be required to adhere to the bill’s provisions. That designation as a covered platform would apply for 10 years or until removed by DOJ or the FTC. H.R. 3826 would direct those agencies to issue enforcement guidelines, supervise and enforce violations, and collect civil monetary penalties from violators.
