Washington, D.C. (06/21/2022) – A new analysis in Competition Policy International by noted antitrust scholar Professor A. Douglas Melamed details why the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (AICOA) will ultimately do more harm than good for consumers due to its broad language on competition, its failure to protect welfare-enhancing practices, and its potential impact on content moderation.
AICOA Would Harm Competition:
… The bill could be very harmful if it is construed to require, not increased market power, but simply harm to rivals. The U.S. has in the past tried laws that insulate weak firms from competition provided by more efficient firms. The results have been increased costs, reduced output, and harm to consumers and suppliers…
AICOA Would Prohibit Welfare-Enhancing Conduct:
…AICOA…would prohibit conduct that is not anticompetitive. The bill could, therefore, reduce economic welfare, even if the “harm to competition” language is construed to mean increased market power…
AICOA Undermines Content Moderation:
…Senator Klobuchar and other Democrats have said that the bill is about commercial practices, not content moderation…if Republican supporters of the bill say that it is intended to help reign in content moderation, that will be part of the legislative history and might affect judicial interpretations of the bill…
To read the full article, click here.
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