US Lawmakers Revive Big Tech Antitrust Bill, Apple Rebuts
A bipartisan bill to curb Big Tech's market power has been reintroduced in the US Senate. The American Innovation and Choice Online Act targets large platforms, aiming to prevent self-preferencing and data misuse. Apple has issued a strong rebuttal, arguing the legislation could harm innovation and user privacy.
Key points
- US Senators reintroduced the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (AICOA) to promote online competition.
- The bill targets digital platforms with over $175 billion in annual revenue and 34% of US users.
- AICOA aims to prohibit self-preferencing, misuse of business-user data, and limiting competitor access.
- Apple issued a strong rebuttal, countering claims that the bill would harm innovation and privacy.
- The legislation is supported by various tech companies, including Mozilla and Yelp, and antitrust advocates.
A bipartisan group of US senators has reintroduced the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (AICOA), a legislative effort aimed at curbing the market power of major technology companies. The bill, first introduced in 2022, seeks to foster greater online competition and affordability by preventing dominant digital platforms from engaging in practices that stifle rivals.
The proposed legislation specifically targets platforms with substantial revenue and user reach, defined as having at least $175 billion in average annual gross revenue and reaching 34% of US subscriber households or monthly active users over 12. If enacted, AICOA would prohibit these covered platforms from unfairly favoring their own products or services, misusing nonpublic business-user data to compete against smaller businesses, limiting competitors' access to crucial platform features, and blocking business users from accessing or transferring their data.
Following the bill's reintroduction, Apple released a strong rebuttal, asserting that the proposed regulations could negatively impact innovation and user privacy. The reintroduction of AICOA has garnered support from a coalition of companies, including Mozilla, Y Combinator, Proton, Yelp, and DuckDuckGo, alongside antitrust scholars, advocates, and various organizations who believe it is necessary to address anti-competitive behavior in the digital marketplace.
Sources
The WireByte editorial team synthesises technology news from multiple primary sources, verifies the facts, and links every source. Articles are produced with AI assistance and reviewed under our editorial policy.