Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST NEWS: Klobuchar sees momentum building for bill intended to boost online competition, (Apr 12, 2022)
Organizations Mentioned:University of Chicago
By Elizabeth C. Pope, J.D.
In related news, nearly twenty small business associations signed a letter urging Congress to pass Klobuchar’s bill, the American Innovation and Choice Online Act.
Momentum is building for legislation designed to combat online anti-competitive behavior from big technology companies, according to Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), who is a co-sponsor of the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (S. 2992). “We are finally seeing momentum on tech competition legislation, and privacy legislation, and legislation to protect kids,” Klobuchar said, “simply because this era of ‘Just Trust Us’ from the Big Tech companies has come to an end.” Klobuchar offered remarks at an April 11 panel hosted by the University of Chicago Institute of Politics and the Atlantic titled “Taming the Wild, Wild Web.”
The Senate Judiciary Committee approved the legislation in February by a bipartisan vote of 16-6. Co-sponsors include Dick Durbin (D-IL), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and John Kennedy (R-LA). Klobuchar emphasized the need to combat anti-competitive behavior from Big Tech companies. “When you see more and more consolidation that makes it harder to get that kind of competition that we’ve always embraced in this country as how we move forward…you shouldn’t be allowing companies that are dominant gatekeepers to put their products, self-preference their products that they also own,” she continued.
Tech support. Tech companies including Roku, DuckDuckGo, Yelp, Spotify, and Match Group have also endorsed the legislation, Klobuchar’s announcement touted. They are among the over 35 small and medium-sized technology companies that signed a letter supporting this legislation and urging Congress to take action to advance it.
Small business weighs in. Separately, nearly 20 small business associations, including the Alliance for Pharmacy Compounding and the American Booksellers Association, signed a letter dated April 11 urging Congress not only to enact the Klobuchar bill, but also to act on House legislation designed to rein in Big Tech. “The truth is,” the letter reads, “our members see little future for American small business if the tech giants continue to corner our digital markets and use their gatekeeper power to favor their own products and block those of smaller rivals.”
News: Antitrust GCNNews