Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Sen. Charles Grassley introduce the American Innovation and Choice Online Act – The Washington Post
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s antitrust subcommittee, and Sen. Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, announced that they will introduce legislation early next week making it illegal for Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google to engage in “self-preferencing,” the tech giants’ practice of giving their own products and services a boost over those of rivals on their platforms.
The bill comes as recent cases targeting tech giants have tested existing antitrust laws. Advocates for tech regulation say legislation is needed because laws written in the era of railroads and oil barons are not equipped to address the unique ways that Silicon Valley can harm competition and consumers. Both Facebook and Apple have scored courtroom victories in recent months in high-profile antitrust cases.
Klobuchar said the White House has also remained “informed” of her office’s work on the bill, as competition policy has emerged as a key focus of the administration. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said last week that President Biden “looks forward” to working with Congress on tech regulation, including antitrust legislation.
The bill’s announcement invited backlash from industry-backed groups arguing that, if passed, it would have a detrimental impact on tech companies. The bill would take a “hammer” to products that consumers love, said Adam Kovacevich, chief executive of the Chamber of Progress, an industry coalition that counts Google, Amazon and Facebook among its partner companies.
Advocates for breaking up large tech companies praised the bill and said the recent bipartisan vote backing tech critic Lina Khan to serve on the Federal Trade Commission underscores there’s willingness in both parties to pass antitrust legislation. But they say this should only be the beginning of Congress’s work on these issues.
“The Senate must continue to reassert its power over the handful of men whose corporations undermine economic dynamism, eviscerate the free press, and threaten our democracy itself,” said Sarah Miller, executive director of the American Economic Liberties Project, a nonprofit organization that advocates for aggressive antitrust enforcement.
The Senate Judiciary antitrust subcommittee has hosted several related hearings, during which they’ve questioned witnesses on ways that the tech giants supposedly use their grip on the smart home or app stores to limit competition. Klobuchar noted that these concerns date back to the previous Congress, when a Republican-controlled committee hosted a hearing on self-preferencing, and lawmakers heard testimony from Google critic Yelp.