10 Must-Reads On Misguided Antitrust Legislation During ABA Antitrust Week
The American Innovation and Choice Online Act (AICOA) and its House companion would have serious negative consequences for consumers and small businesses and do irreparable harm to American innovation and competition. Here’s what to read to get up to speed on the problems with these ill-conceived bills:
1. “Economic Study Finds Anti-Tech Bills To Cost Consumers And Businesses Up To $319 Billion” — A new study by NERA Economics, commissioned by CCIA, finds that proposed antitrust bills in the House and Senate would cost the U.S. economy a total of up to $319 billion, costs that would ultimately be passed along to consumers or SMBs.
2. “Anti-Tech Bills Will Make Inflation Worse, Not Better” — Antitrust is not an anti-inflation policy, and antitrust bills currently being debated in Congress will likely raise prices, not reduce them.
3. “Lawmakers On Both Sides Of Capitol Hill And The Aisle Agree: House And Senate Bills Are Not Ready For Prime Time” — Bipartisan and bicameral Members of Congress agree that they are not ready to vote on anti-tech bills, which were rushed out of the Judiciary committees of both chambers without full-committee legislative hearings. Thirteen senators and more than 20 representatives have spoken out.
4. “Attacking World-Leading, American Technology Companies Would Make The U.S. Less Competitive On The Global Stage” — Overturning a century of antitrust law to attack successful technology companies runs counter to American interests and long standing legal standards.
5. “Criticism Of Sen. Klobuchar’s Radical Antitrust Bill Continues To Roll In From All Sides” — Experts, small business owners, and thought leaders from across the political spectrum have concerns about the potential harms of this bill.
6. “Senate Antitrust Bill Helps Legacy Retailers At The Expense Of Consumers” — Learn more about how this bill would ban Amazon from common business practices while exempting the biggest legacy retailers from similar burdens.
7. “A ‘Picking Winners And Losers’ Bill” — Read about how the Klobuchar bill would prohibit Google from showing a range of helpful search results but allow Google’s competitions to show the same information.
8. “The Companies Targeted By This Legislation Are The Same Ones Driving U.S. Innovation Leadership” — Data shows that the U.S. is by far the leader in R&D spending in software, hardware, and internet sectors—thanks to the extensive investments from leading U.S. technology companies.
9. “Antitrust Legislation Would Put The U.S. At A Disadvantage To Foreign Competitors” — Read about how recent antitrust efforts against leading U.S. tech companies could have serious consequences for American competitiveness and security.
10. “Senators Question The Arbitrary Double Standards Of Covered Platform Definitions In Antitrust Bill” — Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s American Innovation and Choice Online Act would prevent only a few American companies from common business practices that other companies like Walmart and Target continue to engage in, leading Senators to question the legitimacy of the designation.