Key Takeaways:
The American Choice and Innovation Act (S.2992/HR 3816) is a cyber-related bill currently in Congress, which is a bipartisan bill proposed by Democratic Representative for Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District, David Cicilline..
The bill strives to protect user rights and prevent monopolization by big tech.
There are concerns about the large amount of power this bill could provide to the antitrust authorities as well as a possible lack of authority for technology companies to filter harmful sources from reaching users.
The bill was introduced to the House of Representatives less than a month ago on June 11, 2022 and has been amended several times since then. Once the document is fully amended, both the House and the Senate can vote and decide whether or not it should proceed to the Executive Branch and be signed into legislation by the President of the United States Joe Biden. While there is no set date for the bill to be reviewed by the House and Senate, based on the recent amendments to the American Choice and Innovation Act, it is likely to be voted upon this month.
What’s New?
One of the most recent cyber-related pieces of legislation in Congress is the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (S.2992/HR 3816), which is a bipartisan bill proposed by Democratic Representative for Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District, David Cicilline (1). This bill’s name comes from what it aims to preserve for the American people - the freedom of choice to empower further innovation. It serves to prevent what many would consider monopolistic practices, such as Google advertising their products before competitors’ on their search engine, or Amazon promoting its own branded-products above other, similar competing products.
Practices such as these threaten to limit the scope of what people see in an effort to advance corporate objectives. As Forbes referred to MACH37 as “the granddaddy” of cybersecurity accelerators, the privacy and security you expect from companies is of utmost importance to us (2). This blog details the latest developments, debates, and need-to-know information about this bill that could forever change corporate technological interaction with users.
What is the American Innovation and Choice Online Act?
If enacted into law, this bill would serve as antitrust legislation to prevent monopolistic actions amongst the corporate tech sphere. Under this bill, corporations and businesses could be found guilty of antitrust if they (3):
Preference a specific platform’s services, products, etc. unjustly as a means of forwarding company motives
Prevent users from viewing or using another companies’ products, services, etc. and/or other forms of unlawful corporate discrimination against competitors
Restrict what other businesses and their owners, employees, and/or executives can utilize on a different platform from their own that offer similar products, features, or services
Take unjust or vengeful actions against users who provide negative ratings to the company or leave a bad review
Prevent or unnecessarily complicate users from deleting or removing the company’s product or service that was pre-installed or changing settings that promote the company and their offerings
Obtain non-public information on users and use that information to better market their products and services
Give preferred status on their platform to those using the company’s products over those using competitor products
The Cyber Controversy
There are many people, not just the large technology companies, who believe this bill provides too much control over American business to the antitrust authorities. If enacted, the bill would provide the Federal Trade Commission as well as the Department of Justice with immense political power. Under this bill, they would be able to interpret and decide what is just/unjust and the corresponding consequence for unlawful behavior. For many, this bill seems to give the power of justice, jury, and executioner to the antitrust authorities.
Yet, not all the concern is about possible selfish motives or power. Many users and politicians are concerned about the inherent side effects that could result from this legislation. One such politician is Democratic Representative for Washington, D.C. Suzan DelBene who also is the leader of the New Democrat Coalition caucus. She is concerned that the American Innovation and Choice Online Act could “hinder platforms’ ability to moderate harmful content for fear they might be seen as discriminating against a rival service” according to CNBC (4). While this bill was proposed to prevent users from being manipulated by companies, there seems to be a tradeoff between manipulation by the wider public or manipulation by companies. Which poses the question - which is the lesser of two evils?
The Latest Coverage
This bill is concerning to many not just because of the impact to the big business sector, but because of the fallout that the proposed restrictions could have on smaller businesses as well. Due to the illegal prioritization of a company's own products above other products, features such as Facebook Live on Facebook, Amazon Prime products having two-day shipping over other products, and Google showing Google Maps and nearby businesses would be deemed illegal (5). Especially with the large negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on local businesses, many small business owners argue that these platforms are how they survived the pandemic and their elimination could trigger their demise.
While technological companies like Apple and Facebook have taken a firm stand against this bill due to the limitations it would impose on them, according to many sources, this intense lobbying has few bill advocates worried. Since the Democrats control the House of Representatives and the Republicans control the Senate, there is more concern about Senate approval since this is a liberal-leaning bill. However, there is substantial support in both the House and the Senate to enact this legislation into law. The bill was introduced to the House of Representatives less than a month ago on June 11, 2022 and has been amended several times since then. Once the document is fully amended, both the House and the Senate can vote and decide whether or not it should proceed to the Executive Branch and be signed into legislation by the President of the United States Joe Biden. There is no set date for the bill to be reviewed by the House and Senate. Given the time-sensitive nature of this bill, many believe that if it is not enacted into legislation before midterms, the bill may lose its traction. Based on the recent amendments to the American Choice and Innovation Act, it is likely to be voted upon this month, which will decide whether these new regulations would be enacted or sent back for changes.
If this bill is voted into legislation, in the fast-paced world of business and startups, one may wonder if the slow-paced governmental process can keep up with the process of innovation. The purpose behind innovation and why the startup world and business realm are so expeditious in nature is because it is the way we are exposed to new ideas and ways to improve our world. So, this begs the question of whether the government can stay up-to-speed with the world of commercial business enough to not hinder innovation since the bill's ultimate goal is to accelerate innovation further.
Conclusion:
The American Innovation and Choice Online Act challenges to change the way users interact with technological platforms. From a large shift in company to antitrust authority and the debate on whether public or private company manipulation is better, this bill reflects the increase in cybersecurity concerns. As our world becomes increasingly digital, we strive to bring you the latest, unbiased coverage to keep you informed to make your own conclusions. That is why we have a devoted accelerator program to early stage startup companies who are developing cyber related products and services and are ready to take their business to the next level through expanding their networks, learning key business approaches and seeking investment. We encourage those interested in being part of the cybersecurity community to apply here to be part of the cyber change that MACH37 represents. We hope this post gives you a little more information about what the world of cybersecurity has in store.
Who Are We?
VentureScope works with creative entrepreneurs, venture capital investors, and large private and public sector organizations around the world that are trying to solve interesting problems. Our team has extensive and unique experience launching new business ventures, investing in promising startups, running startup accelerators, and providing strategic innovation and general management consulting services to large private and public sector organizations. We’re on the pulse of emerging and over-the-horizon technology and are tracking their growth and development against important industry problems to inform our deal flow and give you exceptional advice. MACH37 is our start-up accelerator designed to facilitate the creation of the next generation of cyber product companies.
References:
1 - https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/3816/text
2 - https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnhall/2020/10/18/3-accelerators-solving-covid-19s-cybersecurity-crunch/?sh=24692ea71e71
3 - https://bipartisanpolicy.org/explainer/s2992/
4 - https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/04/lawmakers-racing-to-pass-tech-antitrust-tech-reforms-before-midterms.html
5 - https://delawarebusinesstimes.com/news/viewpoint-the-american-innovation-and-choice-online-act-is-bad-for-business/
6 - https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2022/04/the-senate-bill-that-has-big-tech-scared/ (Image)