Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) have reintroduced the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (AICOA) — legislation that has failed twice amid bipartisan concerns about its…

Washington rarely gets to see the results of a policy before enacting it. On ex-ante digital regulation, it can. The European Union’s Digital Markets Act

Mozilla Champions the Reintroduction of the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (AICOA) Today, only a handful of tech companies shape the online experience for the more than 300 million ...

Critics of the technology sector have asserted in 2020 that digital markets are stagnant, closed to entry, and low on competitive investment and that AICOA is

Critics of the technology sector have asserted in 2020 that digital markets are stagnant, closed to entry, and low on competitive investment and that AICOA is

After a bipartisan group of senators reintroduced the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (AICOA) today, reviving an effort that could have major implications for Big Tech if enacted into law, Apple issued a strong rebuttal of the proposal. Here are the details.

Six years ago, a House Judiciary Committee report declared America’s largest digital platforms a competitive dead end: entrenched, unassailable, closed to new

United States Senators Chuck Grassley and Amy Klobuchar this week reintroduced the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (AICOA) that targets major tech companies like Apple, and Apple is not happy to see it back. The bipartisan bill is reminiscent of the Digital Markets Act in the European Union, banning large platforms from favoring their own products or services, limiting competitors' access to key platform features, locking users into default settings, and more. It is a reworked version of the same bill that did not reach a floor vote back in 2022. In a statement to MacRumors, Apple said AICOA will undermine privacy, security, and child safety protections, while also making it more difficult to do business in the U.S. We strongly disagree with the Senate's consideration of European-style regulation that would hamper innovation and force changes consumers never asked for, while undermining the privacy, security and child safety protections they rely on every day. Apple is proud to be an engine of innovation, job creation, and economic growth in the U.S., where some of the world's most innovative companies have designed technology that has changed the world. Importing Europe's failed policies will not increase competition -- it will make it more difficult to do business right here at home. AICOA aims to "restore online competition and affordability" by preventing digital platforms from "abusing their market power to stifle competition, undercut online businesses and raise prices for American consumers." It would permit the Department of Justice, Federal Trade Commission, and state attorneys general to challenge online platforms for exclusionary conduct that harms competition. It is applicable to platforms that have at least $175 billion in average annual gross revenue and reach 34 percent of U.S. subscriber households or 34 percent of U.S. monthly active users over the age of 12. Apple would be subject to the restrictions should AICOA pass. Companies are barred from the following under the current AICOA wording: * Unfairly favoring their own products or services. * Misusing nonpublic business-user data to copy and compete against small businesses. * Unfairly limiting competitors' access to key platform features. * Blocking business users from accessing or moving their own data from one digital platform to another. * Retaliating against users or business users who raise legal concerns. * Unfairly enforcing terms of service in ways that harm competition. * Conditioning companies' access to the platform, or product placement on the platform, on purchase or use of unrelated services. * Locking users into default settings. * Skewing ranking or presentation against similarly situated business users. Apple says AICOA would have the same impact as the Digital Markets Act, harming innovation, weakening privacy protections, and delaying new product features. Most recently, Apple said it would not be able to bring Siri AI to the European Union when iOS 27 launches because of an inability to reach an agreement with the European Commission on the DMA's interoperability rules. Like the DMA, AICOA would allow for third-party app marketplaces and alternative payment methods, which Apple maintains will undermine the user protections of the App Store. Apple also says the AICOA rules mandating open platform access would give the most sensitive user data to any company that wants it. Bill sponsors say AICOA was written to "preserve safety, privacy, intellectual property, national security and constitutional protections," and that it includes language to ensure covered platforms are able to prevent fraud and protect safety, user privacy, nonpublic data, or platform security. Along with Apple, AICOA would impact Google, Amazon, and Meta. It is endorsed by Mozilla, Proton, DuckDuckGo, Yelp, and Y Combinator, among others. Senators Josh Hawley, Dick Durbin, Sheldon Whitehouse, and Cory Booker are co-sponsors.Tags: act, Apple Antitrust, App Store This article, "Apple Criticizes U.S. Antitrust Bill That Targets the App Store" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums

Washington rarely gets to see the results of a policy before enacting it. On ex-ante digital regulation, it can. The European Union’s Digital Markets Act

The revived American Innovation Choice Online Act singles out a handful of Big Tech giants for unique, antitrust-like restrictions, but without the standard methodological rationale of antitrust analy...

The revived American Innovation Choice Online Act singles out a handful of Big Tech giants for unique, antitrust-like restrictions, but without the standard methodological rationale of antitrust analysis. The bill risks harming one of America’s most innovative sectors, writes Herb Hovenkamp. The American Innovation Choice Online Act (AICOA), which Senators Amy Klobuchar (D) and Charles […]

SIIA opposes AICOA, warning it threatens innovation, consumer welfare, privacy, and security.

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