WASHINGTON, DC — With news that Senate Republicans are walking away from the bipartisan negotiations over the USICA competition bill, The Tech Oversight Project urged Senator Schumer to immediately bring S.2992, the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (AICO), and S.2710, the Open App Markets Act (OAMA), to the Senate floor for a full vote.
Schumer has scheduled votes for nominations for next week, but there still remains adequate time to bring antitrust legislation to the floor for a vote.
“If Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans are letting USICA die, floor time in July just opened up for antitrust reform,” said Sacha Haworth, Executive Director of The Tech Oversight Project. “S.2992 and S.2710 are bipartisan, bicameral, and wanted by super majorities of Americans from California to New York, and in every battleground state in between. There is no better time for Leader Schumer to prove to voters that Democrats can still do big things.”
Background:
Antitrust reform is down to the wire: “All eyes are on Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), who will need to decide whether to prioritize measures to regulate Google, Apple, Amazon and Meta over other key bills prior to the August recess.” Schumer has publicly promised a vote.
Americans have flooded lawmakers’ offices with thousands of phone calls advocating for the antitrust measures.
As Big Tech continues to lobby against antitrust, spending at least $40 million on TV this year, The Tech Oversight Project has launched a $250,000 TV campaign to fight back.
Numerous polls show overwhelming support for antitrust measures, including in key Senate battleground states of Arizona, Georgia, New Hampshire, and Nevada, and among GenZ voters nationwide.
Antitrust legislation received the Last Week Tonight treatment from comedian John Oliver. Before a national audience, John Oliver broke the door open on Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon’s discriminatory practices, outright lies to lawmakers, and the urgency of the moment to pass meaningful antitrust reforms. The video has since been viewed 4.7 million times on Youtube. Grassroots organizations have broadcasted the Last Week Tonight episode on mobile trucks in Washington and New York.
Amid USICA Breakdown, The Tech Oversight Project Presses Schumer to Bring Antitrust Legislation to the Floor
Jul 07, 2022