An illustrated look at the bipartisan American Innovation and Choice Act's impact on US tech giants, seeking to ban self-preferencing and improve competition
The American Innovation and Choice Online Act has moved from proposal to the edge of a floor vote in under a year: after the bill was unveiled as a bipartisan ban on platform self-preferencing in October 2021, the Senate Judiciary Committee advanced it 16-6 in January 2022, and Democrats are now racing to pass it before the November midterms or year-end.
Bloomberg's illustrated explainer lands at the decision point. The platforms' response so far has been defensive spending — Amazon and Meta each set federal lobbying records above $20M in 2021, with Google up 27% — making this the clearest test yet of whether Congress can legislate against the largest US tech firms.
First-order effects
If enacted, Amazon, Google, Apple, and Meta would be barred from favoring their own products and services over rivals' on their own platforms, forcing changes to search rankings, default placements, and bundled offerings for every business selling through them.
Second-order effects
Third-party sellers and app developers gain negotiating leverage against the gatekeepers they depend on, while the platforms' record lobbying outlays signal an escalating fight to shape or stall the bill's final form ahead of the pre-midterm passage window.
Third-order effects
A successful vote would establish the first structural constraint on how dominant US platforms may treat their own offerings versus competitors', shifting platform governance from antitrust litigation toward statutory rules on interface neutrality.
The trend: US lawmakers are moving from case-by-case antitrust action toward standing legislation that constrains how dominant platforms rank and promote their own products.
This is a very detailed piece on the potential impact of the tech antitrust bill on various tech companies and their products, accompanied by cool graphics. https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
On 1) Here are the companies likely currently affected: Only U.S. companies plus TikTok. Note that the criteria relies on revenue and # of users not on market share of a particular service. Odd, since the claim is that these companies have a “stranglehold.” https://twitter.com/..…
Here's what you need to know to make sure this bill passes and the longstanding anti-competitive behavior of #google #amazon #meta are finally addressed. Needed to ensure fair prices for #consumers #smallbusinesses https://twitter.com/...
Upshot of this far-too-rosy piece by @leah_nylen: 1) The bill targets U.S. companies not foreign competitors; 2) It will make your phone & services less convenient; 3) Congress isn't sure which services are “bad” so it hands power to Biden admin to decide. https://www.bloomberg.c…
Good explanation (plus handy visualisation) of the American Innovation and Choice Act under discussion at the moment #antimonopoly https://www.bloomberg.com/...
This beautiful graphic breaks down how exactly the big tech antitrust legislation would work. Check out the fab work of @leah_nylen: https://www.bloomberg.com/...
“Likewise, Apple and Google may no longer be able to pre-install their own apps on smartphones and other devices if those apps have competitors.” https://twitter.com/...
On 2), could mean no preinstalls on your phone mean; setup is going to be more complicated than it was. Less convenient flight or product search results too. https://twitter.com/...
On 3, and this is the biggie: the bill hands tons of discretion to partisan leaders at DOJ & FTC. Bill supporters don't know which services are problematic so Biden appointees are going to determine how your internet works until, you know, Trump or DeSantis appointees do. https:/…
Huge fan of being able to comprehend, visually and practically, what these giant antitrust bills mean for us! Scroll through the whole thing here, with assistance from the geniuses at @BBGVisualData https://www.bloomberg.com/... https://twitter.com/...