ICYMI – Washington Post Editorial Board on Klobuchar, Grassley Bipartisan Legislation to Rein in Big Tech: “Finally, a Promising Piece of Tech Antitrust Legislation in Congress”

WASHINGTON - The Washington Post Editorial Board published a piece praising legislation introduced by U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Chairwoman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights, and Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Ranking Member of the Judiciary Committee, titled "Finally, a Promising Piece of Tech Antitrust Legislation in Congress."

Calling the legislation a "balancing-act of a bill," the Editorial Board applauded its "necessary nuance."

The American Choice and Innovation Online Act will 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.

From the editorial :

• The [bill's] animating principle is that so-called gatekeeper companies (or "critical trading partners"), essential to other businesses' ability to reach their customers, should be constrained from abusing their position."
• "Smartly, the Senate legislation wouldn't bar companies from competing on their own platforms. It would simply force them to do so on the merits."
• "...if Amazon can harness its trove of knowledge to develop the type of diapers that people most desire at the lowest cost, why stand in its way? And if it does, shouldn't it be allowed to reap some reward for its success? These are the sort of essential questions lawmakers must confront as they mull the antitrust conundrum in the digital age. Ms. Klobuchar and Mr. Grassley, with their balancing-act of a bill, have given them a fine place to start."

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