WASHINGTON—Bipartisan legislation to curb the market power of big technology companies faced a new hurdle Wednesday, with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) criticizing the bills introduced last week.
Mr. McCarthy’s opposition widens a GOP divide over the proposals—which has been the aim of tech industry lobbyists seeking to derail legislation that threatens the businesses of some of America’s largest companies, Amazon.com Inc., Facebook Inc., Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Apple Inc.
“Industry lobbyists in Washington are going absolutely crazy,” said Rep. Lance Gooden (R., Tex.), who supports the proposals. “I have received text messages and calls, some friendly and some not, but all very much against these bills.”
At a news conference Wednesday, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D., N.Y.) stood with lawmakers from both parties and called the bills “a bipartisan plan to level the playing field for innovators, entrepreneurs and start-ups.”
He said he expected the committee to consider approving the bills next week, paving the way for a vote by the full House.
