WASHINGTON (Nexstar) — President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Friday that could impact some of the largest technology and other companies in the country, an action he said will give American workers better opportunities.
Biden said big mergers and monopolies eliminate competition and force many workers into low-paying jobs with poor working conditions. Unfair competition, he said hurts consumers.
“Let me be clear: Capitalism without competition isn’t capitalism. It’s exploitation,” Biden said. “Research shows when you have a limited internet operation, you pay up to five times more on average than families in places with more choices.”
His executiv order focuses quite a bit on challenging big tech by more closely scrutinizing mergers, including ones that already happened.
Biden’s order also directs more than a dozen federal agencies to implement 72 new initiatives promoting fair competition and includes ideas such as allowing medications to be imported from Canada, selling hearing aids over the counter and limiting non-compete agreements that block employees from taking better jobs.
The non-competes, he said, are “done for one reason: to keep wages low.”
But Matt Schruers from the Computer and Communications Industry Association argues that overregulation could backfire and stop innovation.
“That’s why we see higher quality, lower prices, more innovation,” Schruers said. “It’s because companies are trying to best their competitors. If regulators come along and say stop doing that, the consumer is going to be the loser.”