We need Congress to pass the American Innovation and Choice Online Act.

The text reads "collective people power over consolidated corporate power." The image shows hands, from different people, all in stacked on top of each other.

Thanks to Color Of Change members like you, John, the American Innovation and Choice Online Act has passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The next step is to bring it to the Senate floor for a vote. By passing the American Innovation and Choice Online Act, Congress would outlaw Big Tech's unfair treatment of competitors and the practice of giving their own products preferential treatment, and create a bureau at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to enforce this bill and protect competition in the digital markets our communities rely on.1 That’s why we’re sending postcards to your legislators before the American Innovation and Choice Online Act floor vote! 

Add YOUR INFO TO SEND A POSTCARD!

Big Tech has near-total control over online shopping, online content, and online connections. From Facebook buying Instagram—which then copied TikTok—to killing Vine, Big Tech has a history of acquiring, copying, and killing competitors.2-4 Without competitors, Big Tech can force small businesses to use their platforms while also driving them out of existence.

Here are a few examples of how Big Tech has shaped our lives:

  • Amazon has a history of both copying another business’s product and ranking its copycat higher than the original product in users’ search results. Imagine trying to buy a tea kettle and the default is Amazon’s tea kettle, when there are cheaper and better-reviewed tea kettles from third-party sellers.5,6  
  • In Apple’s App Store, if you search for a generic version of an app, Apple will put its own apps first. Imagine wanting to install Spotify in 2018. Prior to Spotify’s complaints, you had to scroll past 22 apps—8 of which were Apple apps, and some of which were unrelated to music—before reaching the Spotify app you were actually looking for.7 
  • As a small business owner that may also sell on Amazon Marketplace, Amazon forces you to sell your products at the lowest price on its Marketplace even if you sell the product on your own website. This is concerning when Amazon has arbitrarily lowered prices on products sold by third-party sellers, such as PopSockets.8 

These anti-competitive actions neither promote innovation nor give us choice. When corporations expand their control of the market, they shape our lives by exploiting Black-owned small businesses and deciding how much we pay for necessary resources. When Big Tech refuses to prioritize people over profits, we should have other options that center our livelihoods.

TELL YOUR LEGISLATORS TO PASS THE AMERICAN INNOVATION AND CHOICE ONLINE ACT!

The American Innovation and Choice Online Act is a piece of antitrust reform, an invaluable tool to advance racial justice. Antitrust reform and enforcement would restrict predatory pricing, require Big Tech to sell off its acquisitions, and block future mergers.9,10 Tell Congress we need antitrust reform and to pass the American Innovation and Choice Online Act!

When our antitrust reform makes racial justice an explicit goal of policy and enforcement, a better future is possible—a future that centers the livelihoods and wellbeing of Black people. Black entrepreneurs will be able to cultivate and control their own businesses. Black-owned businesses, which are more likely to invest in their communities, will be better able to hire from their communities and support political movements.11 Black consumers will have better options for products. Black people will have access to economic justice independent of Big Tech. 

Tell Congress that they work for us, not big tech

Until justice is real, 
—Color Of Change HQ

References: 

  1. “S.2992 - American Innovation and Choice Online Act,” Congress.gov, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/344946?t=8&akid=53231%2E4731121%2EiUMid8.
  2. Kurt Wagner, “Here’s why Facebook’s $1 billion Instagram acquisition was such a big deal,” Vox, April 9, 2017, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/326374?t=10&akid=53231%2E4731121%2EiUMid8.
  3. Brian X. Chen and Taylor Lorenz, “We tested Instagram Reels, the TikTok clone. What a dud.” The New York Times, August 14, 2020, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/344947?t=12&akid=53231%2E4731121%2EiUMid8.
  4. Rachel Kraus, “Mark Zuckerberg gave the order to kneecap Vine, emails show,” Mashable, December 5, 2018, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/344948?t=14&akid=53231%2E4731121%2EiUMid8.
  5. Spencer Soper, “AmazonBasics house brand flatters competitions, but they’re not fans,” Seattle Times, April 23, 2016, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/345031?t=16&akid=53231%2E4731121%2EiUMid8.
  6. Matt Stoller, Pat Garofalo, and Olivia Webb, “Understanding Amazon: Making the 21st Century Gatekeeper Safe for Democracy,” American Economic Liberties Project, July 24, 2020, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/334141?t=18&akid=53231%2E4731121%2EiUMid8.
  7. Jack Nices and Keith Collins, “How Apple’s Apps Topped Rivals in the App Store It Controls,” The New York Times, September 9, 2019, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/345021?t=20&akid=53231%2E4731121%2EiUMid8.
  8. Ibid.
  9. “Predatory Pricing,” Merriam-Webster, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/344950?t=22&akid=53231%2E4731121%2EiUMid8.
  10. “Mergers and Acquisitions: What’s the Difference?” Investopedia, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/344951?t=24&akid=53231%2E4731121%2EiUMid8.
  11. Brian S. Feldman, “The Decline of Black Business,” Washington Monthly, March/April/May 2017, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/344952?t=26&akid=53231%2E4731121%2EiUMid8.