Sens. Klobuchar and Grassley Lead a Bipartisan Step Forward for Protecting People From Platform Monopolists

Klobuchar at Senate Judiciary Subcommittee Hearing, “Big Data, Big Questions: Implications for Competition and Consumers” in D.C., September 21, 2021.

New Bill to Address Market Discrimination

WASHINGTON — Yesterday, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) introduced “The American Innovation and Choice Online Act” with 10 bipartisan co-sponsors.

In response, Barry Lynn, executive director of Open Markets Institute, released the following statement:

“We know we can’t trust monopolies to play fair. Without sweeping congressional action, Big Tech corporations will continue to manipulate commerce and communications in ways that threaten our democracy and wreak havoc on the free press, workers, communities, and small businesses across the country.

“Sens. Klobuchar and Grassley demonstrated strong leadership in developing legislation able to attract such strong bipartisan support. This bill adds to a powerful national movement to prevent dominant corporations from unfairly controlling markets and exploiting their power.

“We applaud this effort to ensure companies that control the critical infrastructure of commerce and communication cannot give preference to their own goods, services, and information at the expense of everyone else. We look forward to working closely with Sen. Klobuchar and other partners to further strengthen this bill and to build a new nondiscrimination rule of law for the digital economy of the 21st century.”

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