A group of skeptics from both the left and right of the political spectrum is urging the Senate Judiciary Committee to advance a bill aimed at preventing large platforms from promoting their own products over those of third-party sellers.
This coalition has reached out to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ranking Member Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) to push forward with the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (AICOA), which they’ve been backing for a while.
The 17 organizations involved stated, “We respectfully urge the Commission to reintroduce AICOA and transition to markup without delay.” They believe that reforms that enhance competition, lower costs for consumers, and protect small businesses shouldn’t be seen as partisan matters.
The legislation is designed to tackle the issue of self-preference that arises when platforms, like Amazon or Apple, prioritize their own products or apps as defaults.
Among the organizations participating in this effort are the Digital Progress Institute, American Principles Project, and Demand Progress. They articulated that the bill would fill “one of the most critical remaining gaps” in antitrust enforcement.
“In recent years, bipartisan support has grown among antitrust authorities and congressional committees to tackle competitive issues driving up costs in areas like prescription drugs, healthcare, and grocery markets. AICOA specifically addresses a key gap: the power of dominant tech platforms to impose fees and price controls that inflate costs both within their markets and across the broader economy.”
The coalition noted in a letter that AICOA previously passed committee review in the 117th Congress with a bipartisan vote of 16-6, and it had backing from over 100 advocacy groups, industry associations, and tech companies.
“The core issues this bill aims to rectify—gatekeeping, competition suppression, and increasing consumer costs—have only intensified since its introduction. Currently, affordability tops voters’ priorities, and the momentum for legal action is stronger than ever,” they remarked.
Evan Schwarztrauber, a senior fellow at the Institute for Digital Progress, shared on X, “Policymakers are intent on making life more affordable for Americans, and AICOA specifically targets self-serving practices by dominant online players that raise costs.”
In a 2021 editorial, Grassley expressed that the AICOA bill would benefit small and medium businesses utilizing large tech platforms.
He stated, “Our laws haven’t kept pace with the evolving online landscape. This legislation will guarantee that all businesses can compete fairly in the online space.”
