WASHINGTON—Overnight, lawmakers released text of their federal government funding legislation. Strong arguments made by NetChoice and others about the security, content moderation and regulatory implications of a big government power grab clearly resonated with lawmakers, even those who were initially supportive of the proposals.
NetChoice applauds Congress for refusing to include radical and unchecked progressive proposals to overhaul American antitrust law in this omnibus.
Fortunately, Members of Congress—and Americans—saw through the public relations campaign to distract them from the many fatal flaws in this pitch. Key components of a years-long antitrust crusade were rightly abandoned by this Congress: the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (AICOA), the Open App Markets Act (OAMA), and the Journalism Preservation and Competition Act (JCPA).
Almost none of these proposals followed regular order, making the progressive lame duck push to pass them even more astounding. Antitrust should be focused on specific harm to consumers—not arbitrary standards that benefit a politician’s preferred companies. Additionally, Americans opposed these proposals and wanted Congress to focus on more pressing issues like inflation or privacy.
“NetChoice applauds lawmakers for dropping these controversial and destructive proposals that would have harmed Americans and our economy. When it comes to antitrust, we hope to see Members focused on consumer welfare and real, substantial evidence of consumer harm in the 118th Congress,” said Carl Szabo, NetChoice Vice President and General Counsel. “Americans can sleep soundly this holiday season knowing the internet they rely on is safe from a big government power grab.”
Szabo continued: “While special interests tried every trick in the book to rush through their radical antitrust proposals, common sense prevailed: antitrust law should be focused on protecting consumers from harm, not attacking leading American businesses some politicians don’t like.”