Klobuchar Statement on Roku Concerns Regarding the Effect of Google’s Self-Preferencing Business Practices

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Chairwoman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights, issued the statement below regarding self-preferencing by Google in the digital streaming arena and its effects on competition:

"Roku's claim that Google requires the company to preference YouTube content over that of other providers in Roku's search results highlights why we need new laws to prevent dominant digital platforms from abusing their power as gatekeepers. For too long, the big tech platforms have leveraged their power to preference their products and services over those of thousands of smaller online businesses. They have said 'just trust us,' but experience has shown that we can't rely on these companies to act fairly in the marketplace. That is why Senator Grassley and I have joined with a bipartisan group of our colleagues to introduce legislation that will set rules of the road to make this type of anticompetitive conduct illegal to prevent harm to businesses and consumers online."

Earlier this month, Klobuchar and Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) introduced the bipartisan American Innovation and Choice Online Actto restore competition online by establishing commonsense rules of the road for dominant digital platforms to prevent them from abusing their market power to harm competition, online businesses, and consumers. This legislation is cosponsored by Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), John Kennedy (R-LA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Mark Warner (D-VA), Josh Hawley (R-MO), and Steve Daines (R-MT).

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