Ahead of Tuesday’s Senate Judiciary Subcommittee entitled, “Big Fixes for Big Tech,” ACT | The App Association wrote a letter to Chair Lee and Ranking Member Klobuchar and released the following statement:
“Given the witness list of the Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on ‘Big Fixes for Big Tech,’ it is shaping up to be an airing of grievances on April Fool’s Day rather than shining a light on the real costs of sweeping antitrust remedies in dynamic digital markets.”
“While it is appropriate for the Senate Judiciary Committee to conduct oversight on how enforcement agencies under its jurisdiction are applying antitrust law in digital markets, the committee’s planned witnesses and potential focus on new rules and regulation fails to accurately represent the perspectives and priorities of American small business innovators,” said Morgan Reed, President of ACT | The App Association. “Legislators and enforcers must look beyond the grievances and complaints of the loudest and most well-resourced competitors in the marketplace. They must understand the costs small businesses in the app economy would bear if every complainant with an expensive law firm on retainer and a set of idiosyncratic demands of online marketplaces gets their way. While giant companies like Epic Games and Y Combinator battle for special treatment in courts and before policymakers, App Association members are fighting against proposed remedies modeled after draconian European regulations.”
Our members, which include small tech entrepreneurs and developers, know that policies modeled after Europe are designed to curtail and restrict the beneficial offerings of curated online marketplaces (COMs). Frameworks like the Digital Markets Act (DMA) tend to benefit a select group of Big Tech competitors with specific demands while hindering competition and diminishing key service offerings for App Association members. The App Association and our members are committed to continuing to spotlight the negative impact of the DMA and the threat that the European style regulation being advocated by these companies will have on competition and American innovation.
About ACT | The App Association & Members
The App Association is a global trade association for small and medium-sized technology companies. Our members are entrepreneurs, innovators, and independent developers within the global app ecosystem that engage with verticals across every industry. We work with and for our members to promote a policy environment that rewards and inspires innovation while providing resources that help them raise capital, create jobs, and continue to build incredible technology.
For more information, please visit www.actonline.org.