Washington, D.C. (01/28/2022) – In a Bloomberg Opinion piece that was posted earlier today, Michael R. Bloomberg outlined how the American Innovation and Choice Online Act “would harm consumers, workers and the economy.”
A Bipartisan Bad Idea
Congress’s attack on tech companies would harm consumers, workers and the economy.
By Michael R. Bloomberg
January 28, 2022
I have always believed we need more bipartisanship in Washington, but just because an idea is bipartisan doesn’t make it good. A bill now making its way to the Senate floor is a perfect example.
Few bills in recent memory have been as misleadingly titled as the “American Innovation and Choice Online Act.” It takes a swing at big tech companies but would hit American consumers and workers on the nose, knocking both backward.
Supporters of the measure claim it will create “commonsense rules of the road for major digital platforms” by preventing them from “unfairly” preferencing their own products. That sounds great in theory, but what it calls common sense is really just a failure to understand the technology industry and how it works. In practice, the bill would impose immense costs, limit consumer choice, reduce innovation, undermine competition, and — quite possibly — outlaw some of the most popular services that Americans use every single day….
Read the piece in full here.
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