Washington, D.C. 08/25/2022 – An op-ed in The Hill by American Consumer Institute President and CEO Steve Pociask outlines how the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (S. 2992) would fuel inflation, hurt small businesses, and negatively impact free and inexpensive digital products, like Google Maps and Amazon Prime, that provide a deflationary effect for consumers.
…The push for this misguided legislation in an election year shows that anti-tech mania has infected both sides of the aisle. In reality, voters in both parties overwhelmingly agree that the issue that concerns them most is inflation, yet Democrats are making the baffling choice to attack the companies that provide immense cost savings and keep local businesses afloat in tough economic times. Republicans too have been bit by the anti-tech populist bug. No matter how they think Silicon Valley platforms treat right-leaning voices, they should be ideologically opposed to such an anti-market and anti-consumer piece of legislation…
…A recent survey from the American Consumer Institute where I serve as president and CEO found that 97 percent of Amazon customers are either somewhat or very satisfied with Amazon Prime services. Consumers in the report say they enjoy the affordable prices and convenient shipping provided by online marketplaces. Amazon’s ranked results allow shoppers to easily find lower-priced goods from reputable sellers, but this convenient tool would be labeled anticompetitive and illegal if Congress has its way…
…To add insult to injury, the bill also contains a provision that would require Google, Amazon, Facebook, and other large tech companies to share customer data with third-party vendors. This means that your billing profile, name, address, and other personal information could be shared with malicious entities located in hostile jurisdictions. Don’t believe me? Just take a look at Sec. 3(a)(7). While the bill contains a provision that allows platforms to withhold data from falling into the hands of the Chinese government, platforms have no way to determine ownership or uncover which Chinese companies have covert deals with the government. As a result, this legislation will give personal identifiable information to potentially rogue companies, and parties, and will most certainly funnel consumer data onto the dark web…
Read the piece in full here.
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