Antitrust bill advances, but roadblocks remain

A Senate panel advanced a bill Thursday aimed at blocking the biggest technology platforms from giving preferential treatment to their own products, a proposal that has deeply divided the industry.

While the Senate Judiciary’s favorable reporting of the legislation is a major step toward moving forward a revamp of antitrust laws, time remains a major stumbling block as other items on President Biden’s agenda dominate Congress’s time.

By the numbers: Although the American Innovation and Choice Online Act was approved by a 16-6 margin, many supporters expressed reservations about its current composition and the bill may undergo major changes before reaching the Senate floor.

“We haven’t meaningfully updated our antitrust laws since the birth of the internet,” said Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), one of the bill’s lead co-sponsors along with Judiciary ranking member Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). “For the time the monopoly power is going to be challenged, in what I consider to be a smart way.”

The legislation would block dominant online companies defined by user base and revenue — likely at least Amazon, Apple, Meta and Google — from giving preference to their own goods or discriminating against rival products on their platforms.

In practice, that could look like Amazon no longer being able to place its own products at the top of results or Google being barred from highlighting its own services in search.

Critics of big tech companies have long held that that kind of self-preferencing boxes out competitors and ultimately decreases the quality of options available to consumers.

Rocky road ahead: The legislation, a version of which was passed out of the House Judiciary Committee during a marathon session last summer, faces a difficult path to passage.

Thursday’s Judiciary committee markup was shorter than anticipated, with several senators withdrawing amendments with the caveat that they wanted opportunities to address their issues with the bill before a floor vote.

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) brought dozens of amendments before pulling them back and ultimately voting against the legislation.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who admonished his colleagues for not tackling unsubstantiated evidence of anti-conservative bias, brought up proposals to introduce a limited private right of action to the legislation but opted not to bring them to a vote.