It’s done, after a month of “show” à la Elon Musk, an agreement has been reached with the leaders of Twitter. He will buy the company for $44 billion at the end of a process that should be completed during the year. The news immediately challenged US Senator Elizabeth Warren who recalled the ” serious need for regulation for Big Tech “.
Can the FTC block Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter?
If one can doubt the relevance of allocating the Big Tech label to Twitter, it is certain that the American antitrust bodies will look into this takeover. The high amount of the operation summons the Department of Justice (DOJ) as well as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Their role will be to ensure that the acquisition by Elon Musk will not create any risk for consumers or for the competition.
The finalization of the takeover of Twitter by Elon Musk imminent?
However, the deal between Twitter and Elon Musk is unlikely to fall through. In general, the FTC intervenes when a company buys out a competitor, or when a buyout will tend to benefit its acquirer too much. For example, the FTC is currently suing Meta for its acquisition of Instagram in 2012, and WhatsApp in 2014. Here, Tesla and SpaceX pose no danger to Twitter, and vice versa.
For the Democratic senator, the problem with this operation is rather the concentration of power. ” And concentration of power means less competition and ultimately one or a handful of people decide who speaks, who is heard and who is bypassed.,” says Elizabeth Warren.
The FTC, chaired by Lina Khan to the great regret of Amazon and Facebook, has seen its powers extended for several months. However, the legislative framework for mergers has not yet been completely redesigned. The agency is focusing on it, thanks to the work of Democrats in the House of Representatives and the Senate. In March, they introduced the “Prohibiting Anticompetitive Mergers Act” which would block all mergers and acquisitions exceeding $5 billion.
Whether the FTC will take the risk of making Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter an example remains to be seen. Political example, more than legal.