Senators will introduce an antitrust bill restricting the behavior of technology platforms towards rivals

Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) plan to introduce legislation that would limit the ability of large tech platforms such as Google, Apple and Amazon to favor their own products or engage in behavior that disadvantages rivals.

The American Online Innovation and Choice Act will complement House legislation that passed the Judiciary Committee in June. The legislation has yet to reach the full House, along with five other antitrust bills aimed at reining in the power of big tech.

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The Senate legislation is significant because of the bipartisan group of senators who have signed on as co-sponsors, reflecting criticism from both sides of the aisle over the power amassed by large tech conglomerates.

Others supporting the legislation include Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Senator John Kennedy (R-LA), Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Senator Mark Warner (D-VA), and Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO).

The legislation would prohibit “dominant” platforms from “favoring their own products or services, harming rivals, or discriminating against businesses using their platforms in a way that would materially harm competition on the platform.” It would also ban other practices, such as requiring another company to buy a platform’s goods and services for preferential treatment. It would also prohibit a platform from improperly using a competitor’s business data to compete with it or influence search results to benefit the platform’s own business.

Amazon, Google and Apple have been under intense scrutiny on Capitol Hill over their practices. Third-party sellers have complained that Amazon uses its platform to favor its own brand products.

Klobuchar, who chairs the Senate antitrust subcommittee, wrote on Twitter on Thursday: “When dominant tech companies exclude rivals and kill competition, it harms small businesses and can increase costs for YOU. My new bipartisan legislation with @ChuckGrassley will establish new operating rules to prevent large companies from eliminating smaller competitors.”

The House version defined a large platform as one that has at least 50 million monthly active users or at least 100,000 monthly active business users. It was also defined as a company with annual net sales or monthly capitalization of more than $600 million.

Linda Moore of TechNet, an industry group of which the major platforms are members, said the Senate bill “will have massive unintended consequences that will hit consumers and small and medium-sized businesses in every community in the country.”

“Regulations threaten the way small businesses can reach new and existing customers, sell goods, create job opportunities, and grow and thrive,” she said. “Restricting these services will force companies to pay more for the tools and products they need to stay open and successful. As the cost of doing business increases, the prices consumers pay will increase, fewer jobs will be created, and our economy will slow significantly.”

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