Washington, D.C. – Consumer Reports praised Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Sen. Charles E. Grassley, and others today for reintroducing the bipartisan American Innovation and Choice Online Act to help address problems created by the dominant market power of the largest online platforms.
AICOA is a narrowly targeted bill, firmly rooted in antitrust and economic principles. The bill is focused on addressing problematic online activities where the marketplace is not working. The proposed fair market rules will directly benefit consumers, boost competition and innovation, while also safeguarding against unintended adverse effects. AICOA will enable our existing laws to better achieve their mission of preserving and promoting competition, and the benefits competition brings to consumers and businesses large and small in the online marketplace.
“Consumer Reports welcomes the reintroduction of the American Innovation and Choice Act. The bill is designed to create more innovation, more choice for consumers, and to ultimately stop the largest online platforms from imposing their self-serving rules on markets and society,” said Sumit Sharma, senior researcher for tech competition at Consumer Reports. “The bill will make it easier for consumers to install, choose, and use alternative apps and online services. Additionally, it will eliminate barriers imposed by dominant online platforms to impede innovation by emerging competitors. This is critical legislation to ensure that American consumers are benefiting from a healthy online marketplace that promotes competition and choice.”
CR recently released a report which raises concerns about US consumers potentially being left behind their European counterparts by American Big Tech companies that are required to make pro-consumer changes under the Digital Markets Act. CR also released a primer last year that analyzes the American Innovation and Choice Online Act in more detail.
A July 2020 nationally representative survey by CR of 3,219 U.S. adults, found that roughly 3 out of 4 Americans worried about the power wielded by today’s biggest tech platforms.
Contact: Cyrus Rassool, cyrus.rassool@consumer.org