Misguided anti-tech legislation like the Open App Markets Act (OAMA) and the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA) failed to pass the last Congress for many reasons, including serious flaws that would have harmed consumers. Similarly, as Springboard has previously noted, the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (AICOA) is also a failed bill that would harm consumers. Get up to speed: 

1) Dr. Mark Jamison, a fellow at American Enterprise Institute, explains: OAMA would have imposed “regulations founded on faulty assertions.”

— Dr. Jamison criticized OAMA as a move that would “flood” the marketplace with cybersecurity dangers and harm innovation. “One implication of our research is that if the OAMA outlaws the platform features that consumers are demonstrating they like, one can expect fewer apps of the kinds consumers prefer, fewer qualified app developers, less app innovation, and less app consumption. On top of that, my colleague Shane Tews has repeatedly warned of the cybersecurity dangers of removing the vetting processes currently in place. Such a move would flood the marketplace with malware, introducing more vulnerabilities to our networks. Our elected officials would serve consumers and the American economy well by continuing to let consumers determine platform and app developer success and not imposing regulations founded on faulty assertions.”

2) Business owner Marissa Olstom, Co-Founder of All My Links warns: OAMA would make buying and downloading apps “challenging and dangerous for consumers.”

— Olstom noted OAMA would make the app store ecosystem “challenging and dangerous for consumers,” ignoring reliable safeguards. “Supporters of S. 2710 mistakenly argue that its provisions will protect consumers; in reality, the legislation would make the process of purchasing and downloading apps challenging and dangerous for consumers while also ignoring security protections on which users have come to rely.”

3) A bipartisan coalition of concerned organizations, led by Public Knowledge, cautions that JCPA: “[C]ontains far too many contradictions, complexities, and problems[.]”

— A broad, bipartisan coalition of more than 25 concerned groups warned against the bill’s passage. “This bill, despite months of advocacy and multiple revisions, contains far too many contradictions, complexities, and problems to be included in any omnibus or must-pass legislation.”

— They continue: “Historically, antitrust exemptions have not accomplished beneficial goals, and instead have harmed competition and consumers, entrenched existing power structures, and increased codependence between powerful industry incumbents. The JCPA will cement and stimulate consolidation in the industry and create new barriers to entry for new and innovative models of truly independent, local journalism.”

See here, here, and here for more from Springboard on the flaws of OAMA and JCPA.