In a statement after the press conference, the industry group NetChoice framed the public pressure as a sign of the bill’s poor chances on the floor. “Frankly, if Sen. Klobuchar had momentum behind S. 2992 she claims she does, she wouldn’t need to host a press conference about it,” said NetChoice general counsel Carl Szabo. “She would have already moved it out of the Senate.”
If enacted, AICO would restrict dominant platforms from recommending their own services over competitors, alongside granting new funding for antitrust regulators at the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission. Critics say the new rules would result in drastic changes for Amazon Prime or Google search, claims that Klobuchar’s office denies.