WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) today joined Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Chairwoman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights, in reintroducing the American Innovation and Choice Online Act. This bipartisan legislation would restore competition online by establishing common sense rules of the road for dominant digital platforms to prevent them from abusing their market power to hurt competition, online businesses, and consumers. Cosponsors of the bill also include Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Senate Judiciary Committee Chair, Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member, Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Mark Warner (D-Va.), and Cory Booker (D-N.J.).
“While Big Tech has grown and evolved over the years, our laws have not changed to keep up and ensure these companies are competing fairly. These companies have continued to become a larger part of our everyday lives and the global economy, controlling what we see and how we engage on the internet,” Grassley said. “Big Tech needs to be held accountable if they behave in a discriminatory manner. Our bill will help create a more even playing field, ensure that small businesses are able to compete with these platforms and promote an environment for greater consumer choice.”
“Our nation’s prosperity is built on a foundation of fair competition and open markets. But right now we’re facing a monopoly problem as dominant digital platforms some of the most powerful companies the world has ever known - increasingly give preference to their own products and services,” said Klobuchar. “It’s past time to put in place rules of the road to give small businesses and entrepreneurs a chance to compete and bring down costs for all consumers who rely on digital platforms. I won’t stop fighting to get this done.”
“Choice is fundamental to competition. American consumers have been systematically denied access to critical information about their market choices. The American Innovation and Online Choice Act will push back against strong arm tactics employed by Big Tech to disadvantage consumers and exclude competitors from the marketplace,” said Durbin.
“For too long, Big Tech has run roughshod over small businesses, and lax antitrust enforcers have refused to do anything. No more. Congress is finally beginning to take these issues seriously. This bill will outlaw much of the discrimination and self-preferencing that tech companies currently get away with,” said Hawley.
“Big Tech’s self-serving market manipulation hurts consumers, workers, and online business. Tech giants use their vast market dominance to unfairly boost their own products and services—and to disadvantage competitors. I’m proud to back this bipartisan bill to level the playing field, ensuring smaller competitors have a fighting chance and consumers have more options at fairer prices.” said Blumenthal.
“It’s clear the American people want Congress to rein in the enormous power of giant tech companies,” said Warner. “I’m committed to working with my colleagues on sensible, bipartisan reforms to check the worst behavior of these companies.”
Last year, the American Innovation and Choice Online Act made history as the first digital competition bill since the dawn of the internet to advance in Congress when it passed the Senate Judiciary Committee with a 16-6 vote. In December 2022, Klobuchar and Grassley’s Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act became law as part of the end of year funding package. This legislation updated merger filing fees for the first time since 2001, lowering fees on smaller acquisitions and increasing them for the largest mergers, raising additional revenue that Congress can use to fund antitrust enforcement.
The American Innovation and Choice Online Act will:
Last Congress, the American Innovation and Choice Online Act was supported by the National Federation of Independent Business, Consumer Reports, the Consumer Federation of America, Public Knowledge, leading national security experts, leading antitrust legal scholars, small business organizations, and over 60 small and medium-sized companies and trade associations, including Spotify, Wyze, FuboTV and Quora.
-30-