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Sen. @AmyKlobuchar is right! The Biden Administration has been and will be a partner in the fight for increased competition and antitrust reform.
— The Tech Oversight Project (@Tech_Oversight) January 20, 2022
?️ LINK to WH readout: https://t.co/ciIcsOto6p https://t.co/e0sOwtV5bZ pic.twitter.com/vKj07pm4NY
It’s clear the American Innovation and Choice Online Act will take away what makes today’s online marketplaces so valuable.
— NetChoice (@NetChoice) January 20, 2022
If enacted, the bill will...
? Eliminate discounted bundles
? Make it harder to use search
? Force sites to host potentially dangerous products pic.twitter.com/XbO6qWJRRQ
That is both insanely expensive and incredibly threatening to the independence and integrity of platform content moderation. It's one thing to have transparency mandates for the public or researchers. It is quite another to let a politically motivated actor search all the files.
— Daphne Keller (@daphnehk) January 20, 2022
Five out of 11 GOP Senators joined Democrats to send this Big Tech anti-trust bill to the floor. It's not perfect but it's a serious bill and a huge defeat for Big Tech: both Google and Apple lobbied vigorously against it, but got a large bipartisan vote in its favor. https://t.co/zg7mQKQxb7
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) January 20, 2022
But, Section 3(a)(3) of the amended bill in today’s markup also prohibits covered platforms from “discriminating” against any “similarly situated business users.” Even if the platform itself does not compete with those businesses. What does this mean? 4/
— Nora Benavidez (@AttorneyNora) January 20, 2022
Consumers in Wyoming and the rest of America would benefit from greater competition among tech companies, but right now the tech giants are self-promoting their own products over their rivals, which hurts competition and solidifies existing internet monopolies. 2/
— Senator Cynthia Lummis (@SenLummis) January 20, 2022
This glaring flaw in the bill has not had the scrutiny it deserves. I think that is because, for the most part, people who understand content regulation are siloed from people who understand competition law.
— Daphne Keller (@daphnehk) January 20, 2022
Not many people who would notice this issue were paying attention.
S.2992 vote in Senate Judiciary Committee: 16-6
— Alex Harman (@CitizenAlex3) January 20, 2022
How are you feeling about the literal tens of millions of dollars you are spending to fight this effort @amazon, @Apple, @Meta, and @Google??
Markup is today for the "American Innovation and Choice Online Act," from @amyklobuchar @markwarner @ChuckGrassley @maziehirono & more. It opens the door to litigation over whether Daily Stormer, Breitbart, etc. should rank higher in newsfeeds.https://t.co/9na3m9NYjX
— Daphne Keller (@daphnehk) January 20, 2022
???
— NetChoice (@NetChoice) January 20, 2022
We want to flag some of the biggest concerns with the American Innovation and Choice Online Act. We also want to provide some resources explaining the consequences.
In a world where S.2992 is law...
Today the Senate Judiciary Committee took a decisive step toward reining in the unchecked, monopolizing power that Big Tech has over the internet marketplace. 1/
— Senator Cynthia Lummis (@SenLummis) January 20, 2022
S.2992 is described as antitrust reform but it only applies to a few companies — online entities above high-user thresholds or w/ annual revenues upwards of half a trillion dollars. So that's Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, possibly Microsoft or Walmart, Tencent and TikTok. 2/
— Nora Benavidez (@AttorneyNora) January 20, 2022
GREAT news in the fight to #ReinInBigTech in the Senate today!
— David Cicilline (@davidcicilline) January 20, 2022
Congrats, @SenAmyKlobuchar. Proud to call you a partner in this effort. https://t.co/y5UEn5kshR
Proud to serve as a cosponsor on this bipartisan initiative to level the playing field for smaller tech businesses and impose sensible regulation on bigger tech companies.
— Mark Warner (@MarkWarner) January 20, 2022
As a former tech business guy, it’s important to me to work on legislation that helps create competition. https://t.co/2jyZRvT5iI
America has worked for generations to stop monopolies when they arise, and the internet age should be no different. I look forward to supporting this bill on the Senate floor. 3/3
— Senator Cynthia Lummis (@SenLummis) January 20, 2022
To be fair it's not just the CA Dems. Leahy and Coons too - and they've been on the other side of big tech on past issues, particularly copyright and patent issues.
— Adam Kovacevich (@adamkovac) January 20, 2022
Right now, big tech gets to call all the shots online. Does this benefit consumers or small businesses trying to compete? No.
— Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) January 20, 2022
The good news: My bipartisan bill to create commonsense digital rules of the road passed the Judiciary Committee today and is closer to becoming law.
BOOM.
— Jesse Lehrich (@JesseLehrich) January 20, 2022
Senate Judiciary advances the American Innovation & Choice Online Act by an overwhelming 16-6 (!!!) bipartisan vote.
Small Business Rising member @Hardware_Gina, owner of A Few Cool Hardware Stores, joined a White House meeting on the urgent need to rein in Big Tech. "Concentrated market power is the single biggest threat facing independent businesses," she said.https://t.co/hOlhImv8LW
— Small Business Rising (@RisingSmallBiz) January 20, 2022
The power that the Big Tech oligarchs wield would make John D. Rockefeller blush! pic.twitter.com/mFdbxZM1H2
— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) January 20, 2022
Dear @Google, @Amazon, @Facebook, and @Apple:
— ?? Mike Davis ?? (@mrddmia) January 20, 2022
1. How much do you spend on lobbying?
2. How did you get beat so badly?
Sincerely,@The_IAP https://t.co/wyRoxJdNTC
Ah yes, consumers love it when the tech monopolies force them to use and buy their own products. https://t.co/hyPzntohWI
— ron knox (@ronmknox) January 20, 2022
This is a very long way for Sen. Klobuchar to admit that she has had no hearing on the American Innovation and Choice Online Act.
— Robert Winterton (@RobPWJ) January 20, 2022
If the bill is quite so good, why not hold a committee hearing on it? ?
It’s an insult to the 40+ startups, mostly California who signed this letter in support of this legislation https://t.co/oLue03rM6M https://t.co/hO9lQVFEqw
— Luther Lowe (@lutherlowe) January 20, 2022
Except for California Senator Dianne Feinstein, virtually every Senator, supportive or not, conceded we have a massive monopoly problem with big tech. This isn't the last legislative proposal that will pass the committee, not by a long shot. Congrats to @SenAmyKlobuchar.
— Matt Stoller (@matthewstoller) January 20, 2022
Interesting ? from Daphne on how provisions in this anti-trust bill that have generally been imagined as affecting commerce (Amazon generic batteries) or app stores might also affect speech, which would have the opposite of the impact these Senators have repeatedly asked for. https://t.co/jko4VJxMkP
— Alex Stamos (@alexstamos) January 20, 2022
A more measured manner like, for example, not regulating the tech monopolies at all! https://t.co/RuyPUykJeB
— ron knox (@ronmknox) January 20, 2022
Should Parler be entitled to hosting from AWS or a prominent spot in app stores? It tried the AWS claim last year, and lost.
— Daphne Keller (@daphnehk) January 20, 2022
But under this bill, any sympathetic State AG (or federal agencies under control of some future administration) could win on that same claim.
Interesting thread. H/t @alexstamos
— Brian Fishman (@brianfishman) January 20, 2022
My minor critique is the suggestion that transparency to researchers doesn’t raise issues of politicization and agenda pushing. It does. Not as acute as w govt, and shouldn’t prevent transparency, but build protections up front. https://t.co/AZs3ym5jzL
California Dems just coming right out and saying that they're against antitrust because they view tech giants as part of their core constituency https://t.co/7T70jJ2RBj
— Will Oremus (@WillOremus) January 20, 2022
Big tech probably spent tens of millions opposing this bill alone. Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai were calling Senators personally. A bipartisan thrashing is not the outcome they wanted. https://t.co/Y8ELt0gi5L
— Matt Stoller (@matthewstoller) January 20, 2022
Both US Senators from California--Feinstein and Padilla, both Democrats--have now spoken against the antitrust bill that would ban self-preferencing by dominant internet platforms.
— Will Oremus (@WillOremus) January 20, 2022
"I suspect many consumers like the convenience of self-preferencing," Padilla says.
As this bill moves, remember that it's just as possible for the bill to get stronger on the floor as weaker. Far more importantly than this bill, the Senate Judiciary just opened the floodgates. Now everyone knows there's an overwhelming majority to address big tech power.
— Matt Stoller (@matthewstoller) January 20, 2022
The extent to which the US Senate is getting its antitrust views and talking points from the very tech giants it's tasked with regulating raises the question: What if Big Tech is already so powerful that reining in its power is no longer possible? https://t.co/9P5SmLaBsT
— Will Oremus (@WillOremus) January 20, 2022
We have a live example of how that plays out right now. Texas's AG, Ken Paxton, is litigating over Texas's politically-motivated law regulating platform content moderation. He wants Twitter to hand over basically all internal documents about content moderation.
— Daphne Keller (@daphnehk) January 20, 2022
Incredible but this important bill potentially restraining big tech had some of the worst villains voting in favor (Cruz, Graham, Hawley) and a no from Feinstein cause Silicon Valley… politics makes strange bedfellows etc https://t.co/tpjRiqmPnB
— Damon K (@dada_drummer) January 20, 2022
2day Judiciary Cmte approved Klobuchar-Grassley bill to combat unfair practices of BigTech. Will create level playing field 4 smaller biz/prevent abuse from dominant platforms Its impt step in putting checks on growing power of BigTech over what we buy, see, read & say online
— ChuckGrassley (@ChuckGrassley) January 20, 2022
Fact check: @SenFeinstein is right - there are real concerns about the national security ramifications of the American Innovation and Choice Online Act. Our statement below: pic.twitter.com/c06piOqsYt
— TechNet (@TechNetUpdate) January 20, 2022
We thank the Senate Judiciary Committee for a bipartisan vote to approve the American Innovation and Choice Online Act!
— DuckDuckGo (@DuckDuckGo) January 20, 2022
This act will help restore competition to the digital market, benefiting consumers and competition.
Now onto a floor vote!https://t.co/hJbqYAzDo6
The so called "American Innovation and Choice Online Act" being marked by the Senate Judiciary Committee is going to end up in the dictionary under "government picking winners and losers."
— Neil Bradley (@NeilBradleyDC) January 20, 2022
For many reasons, it should be defeated.https://t.co/bviF8tmcrC
Then, for reasons I don't understand, someone added a cause of action if an AG or federal agency thinks Facebook, Google News, etc. should change the relative ranking of, say, Breitbart and the NYT because they are "similarly situated businesses."
— Daphne Keller (@daphnehk) January 20, 2022
Common sense suggested and now evidence confirms: American voters don't want Congress to break the internet. They want privacy legislation, not anti-consumer legislation like the American Innovation & Choice Online Act. https://t.co/5eIyhEHaSh
— Chris Marchese (@ChrisMarchese9) January 20, 2022
these polls are always kinda silly, like ... big shocker that your average person is more concerned about putting food on the table than they are about the complexities of antitrust enforcement. that doesn't mean antitrust isn't important or that it shouldn't be prioritized https://t.co/MpglVD4fbw
— Evan Greer (@evan_greer) January 20, 2022
The other thing about the wild new content moderation claims hidden in this nominally competition-focused bill is the practical impact of State AGs litigating for their preferred news, app, or other speech ranking.
— Daphne Keller (@daphnehk) January 20, 2022
Similar legislation passed the House Judiciary Committee last June but has stalled in the lower chamber since then, partly over skepticism among Democratic members from California https://t.co/7QROnQRSYz
— WSJ Politics (@WSJPolitics) January 20, 2022
I'm honestly not sure what that part of the bill -- Section 2(a)(3) -- is even doing in there. The rest prohibits self-preferencing by platforms, like Google prioritizing its own Shopping site or YouTube etc. That sounds fine! (BTW, I used to be a Google lawyer.)
— Daphne Keller (@daphnehk) January 20, 2022
NEWS: Today the Committee advanced 12 judicial nominees, including Second Circuit nominee Alison Nathan, as well as the bipartisan American Innovation and Choice Online Act.
— Senate Judiciary Committee (@JudiciaryDems) January 20, 2022
Watch Chair @SenatorDurbin's remarks on why this bill will support small businesses and spur competition: pic.twitter.com/dpu472dacu
there's stuff to improve and work on in these bills, but overall they are clearly an improvement on the status quo, and may be Congress' best shot at getting something meaningful done to at least start chipping away at the dominance and abuses of Big Tech https://t.co/1BVxUqPWmr
— Evan Greer (@evan_greer) January 20, 2022
Section 3(a)(3) of S. 2992 would make it difficult or impossible for covered companies to remove from their sites any biz that traffics in hateful or otherwise harmful content. Ripe for abuse down the line and I worry about how state AGs or future FTC officials will respond. 5/
— Nora Benavidez (@AttorneyNora) January 20, 2022
The bill will ban self-referential conduct i.e. that favoring these platforms’ own sites & services, like Apple favoring its own mapping application over those created by rivals. 3/
— Nora Benavidez (@AttorneyNora) January 20, 2022
This is not accurate — they approved the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (S.2992), which is a separate bill focused on banning tech companies from “self-preferencing”
— Riles ?♂️ (@rileytestut) January 20, 2022
The Open App Markets Act (S.2710) is what could allow sideloading, and was _not_ discussed today https://t.co/kKsM1OMMWn
After a roll call, The American Innovation and Choice Online Act passes out of the Senate Judiciary Committee by a vote of 16-6.
— ron knox (@ronmknox) January 20, 2022
That's that on that! Congrats gang. On to the full Senate.
DuckDuckGo joins 40+ companies in calling for the Senate Judiciary Cmmte to vote in favor of the American Innovation & Choice Act today. This bill would make our market more competitive by barring self-preferencing tactics. https://t.co/h8EqC5jDvN
— DuckDuckGo (@DuckDuckGo) January 20, 2022
Padilla: “Is this committee choosing to trust regulators and courts to crack down on harmful self-preferencing practices while allowing activity that is benefiting consumers? We should approach in a more measured manner.”
— Leah AntiTrustButVer1fy Nylen ? (@leah_nylen) January 20, 2022
EXCLUSIVE: Bipartisan anti-Big Tech bills that are gaining traction in Congress are not a priority for voters around the country, according to new polls released by tech industry associations @ProgressChamber & @NetChoice.https://t.co/x3XJtZOP3o
— Nihal Jaytirth Krishan (@NihalKrishan) January 20, 2022
Senator Padilla highlighting this point right now: this bill can make it much more difficult for platforms to target hate speech and misinformation. Also see the @freepress concerns: https://t.co/9DsNb9RgcN https://t.co/fYAKWsqSU2
— Jeffrey Westling (@jeffreywestling) January 20, 2022
.@FreePress gets it. These bills give Josh Hawley what he's been pushing for years: a legal weapon against content moderation
— Berin Szóka ? (@BerinSzoka) January 20, 2022
Bravo, @CarmenScurato & @TimKarr https://t.co/W5ln4fbesf
So why don't Senate Judiciary Democrats care?!? pic.twitter.com/ZBcF12WTqH
Lawmakers have a shot today at advancing one of the most impactful tech antitrust bills on the table that experts think could actually have a chance at becoming law. And Big Tech is not letting it happen without a fight. https://t.co/TDicpTJqeW
— Lauren Feiner (@lauren_feiner) January 20, 2022
The Senate is about to get its best shot at regulating Big Tech companies like Apple and Google https://t.co/2QSFjs2CbZ
— CNBC (@CNBC) January 20, 2022
Check it. European parliament backs big limits on tracking ads https://t.co/s0jYPORVZq via @techcrunch #tech #digital #data #privacy
— Kohei Kurihara -Privacy Is Opportunity- (@kuriharan) January 21, 2022
欧州議会が行動ターゲティング広告に対してより厳しい制限を設ける予定。https://t.co/gl5eTfyRof
— Tetsuro Miyatake (@tmiyatake1) January 21, 2022