WASHINGTON, DC – Statement from Morgan Reed, president, Association for Competitive Technology (ACT) on AB 1776, the COMPETE Act:
“Small and medium-sized technology companies compete by moving quickly, pricing aggressively, bundling services, and building on the platforms and infrastructure that help them reach customers. While AB 1776 tries to protect competition and small business interests, in practice it would put ordinary small business growth strategies under a legal cloud by replacing predictable competition rules with a vague, California-specific liability framework that no court has ever interpreted. The bill removes established safeguards like market-power thresholds and familiar limiting principles. ACT led a coalition letter with the Association for Enterprise Opportunity, Connected Commerce Council, Developers Alliance, and Small Business Entrepreneurship Council urging the California Assembly Judiciary Committee to reject the bill. ACT also joined a broad coalition of more than 100 businesses and trade associations, led by the California Chamber of Commerce, opposing AB 1776 as a cost driver. California’s small businesses and innovators need legal rules they can understand and follow, not an untested expansion of antitrust liability that the smallest firms will be least equipped to navigate.”
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About the Association for Competitive Technology (ACT):
ACT is a global trade association for startups and small 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 our members to promote a policy environment that rewards and inspires innovation while providing resources that help small businesses raise capital, create jobs, and continue to build incredible technology.