Washington, D.C. 3/7/2023 – CCIA’s “Don’t Break What Works” campaign released the following statement in advance of today’s hearing of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights:
“If legislation relevant to this hearing had actually been introduced in the new Congress, we would be eagerly awaiting additional details and perspectives about lawmakers’ planned approach to restructuring the digital marketplace. Instead, with no other legislation to draw on, we anticipate a hearing in which we hear the same, failed arguments about legislation with flaws that have been often articulated, well documented and, at this point, widely accepted. We are particularly curious how lawmakers plan to address the critical question of whether or not legislation like the American Innovation and Choice Online Act allows platforms to moderate content, especially since this also seems to be a question that lawmakers themselves cannot agree on, not to mention how to fix it.
“We are also interested in learning what changes lawmakers may be considering regarding cybersecurity measures in these bills, and if they are serious about incorporating feedback from the many national security and cybersecurity experts who have raised many red flags about the wide-scale, negative impact these bills will have.
“We remain confident that, like the previous Congress, lawmakers will decide not to pursue legislation that only ultimately serves to harm consumers.
“Once again, we ask that the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee not use this hearing as a thinly-veiled effort to claim it’s giving not-yet-introduced legislation the proper process and in-depth hearing that legislation with enormous, negative impacts should have,” said Chandler Smith Costello, a spokeswoman for the Don’t Break What Works campaign.
The Don’t Break What Works campaign is powered by the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA). Learn more here.