Media: Press Release

Statement on Senate Judiciary Committee Vote on the American Innovation and Choice Online Act

January 20, 2022

WASHINGTON — Mike Davis, Founder and President of the Internet Accountability Project, issued the following statement praising the Senate Judiciary Committee’s 16-6 passage of the American Innovation and Choice Online Act. Davis previously outlined his support for the legislation in an opinion piece on Substack in which he debunked many claims made by Big Tech monopolists and their paid allies.

“The American Innovation and Choice Online Act is bipartisan legislation that levels the playing field and enacts standards for Big Tech that apply to every other industry and sector in our country. The Internet Accountability Project thanks Senators Grassley and Klobuchar for their leadership on this very important issue and shepherding the bill through committee. The key to a healthy free market—as well as a functioning society and democracy—is openness, competition and the rule of law. Right now, all are under threat. Big Tech is crushing small businesses, stifling innovation and silencing its political opponents. Many senators raised legitimate concerns at the committee markup, and those concerns should and surely will be addressed before full Senate consideration,” Davis said.

“Big Tech and their paid allies are out in full force lobbying against this bipartisan bill. They claim there haven’t been any hearings, but there have been several hearings over the past year in both chambers on antitrust issues and the issue of self-preferencing and other anticompetitive practices specifically. They claim the legislation will harm small businesses, but we know monopolies reduce competition, hurting small businesses and stifling innovation. Most notably, they claim the legislation will harm consumers. But when has more choice ever harmed consumers? The bill frees up competition from small businesses against Big Tech platforms including Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Apple. It also blocks Big Tech’s habit of self-preferencing that unfairly prioritizes its own products and services over those of startup competitors. The time for Congress to act and finally put an end to Big Tech’s antitrust amnesty is now. As Senator Blackburn said, hearings on these Big Tech issues have been going on for a decade without Congressional action. Now is the time for elected officials to stand with their constituents and hold Big Tech accountable for their anticompetitive conduct,” Davis said.

IAP is a nonprofit conservative advocacy group that holds Big Tech accountable for engaging in egregious business practices like snooping, spying, political bias against conservatives, employee abuses and anticompetitive conduct. Davis previously served as Chief Counsel for Nominations to Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary and led the Senate confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh and a record number of circuit court judges. More information on Davis and IAP can be found here.

###