Chennai-born Indian-American Pramila Jayapal, 55, has been named as the vice chair of the Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law. Jayapal, who a Democrat, will look over the subcommittee’s urgent work on antitrust, big tech, reining in anti-competitive behaviour, helping prevent monopolistic practices, protecting a free press, and allowing innovation to thrive.

“I am honoured to lead the House Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law at a pivotal moment in which we must write the next chapter of antitrust law,” Jayapal said in a statement.

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The only Indian-American in the House of Representatives, Jayapal is one of the leading voices on the committee and she most recently played an active role in conducting America’s first major congressional antitrust investigation in decades, PTI reports. 

The Indian-American said, “By reasserting the power of Congress and using our historic investigation as a roadmap, we will continue the work necessary to rein in anti-competitive behaviour, help prevent monopolistic practices, protect local and independent journalism, and allow innovation to thrive.”

“That’s how we will finally hold dominant tech platforms accountable while advocating for workers, stopping hate and misinformation, and protecting a free press.” 

In July last year, Jayapal questioned Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg and Sundar Pichai, the CEOs of three dominant tech platforms. She asked Amazon CEO Bezos about how the tech giants used third party and questioned Facebook CEO Zuckerberg on how the platform harvests and monestises user data and utlises it to copy, acquire and kill rivals. 

She asked Google CEO Pichair about the company’s total control of the ad market as the owner of the market, the ad buyer, and the ad seller, which she said has harmful effects on the local and independent journalism, necessary of the nation’s democracy to thrive. 

The hearing was part of the Antitrust Subcommittee’s more than 16-month investigation into the state of competition in the digital economy.

In the investigation findings released in October last year, she said, “I can say conclusively that self-regulation by Big Tech comes at the expense of our communities, small businesses, consumers, the free press, and innovation.” 

In December, Jayapal was elected as the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), making her one of the most powerful US lawmakers in the 117th Congress.