Senate committee endorses antitrust bill targeting tech

WASHINGTON — A Senate committee on Thursday voted to advance antitrust legislation targeting the tech industry, after a debate that exposed fault lines within the Democratic Party over the future of tech regulation.

The American Innovation and Choice Online Act cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee on a 16-6 vote, with lawmakers from both parties calling for future amendments to the bill. The at-times heated debate over the legislation followed an aggressive lobbying blitz from tech giants and their surrogates, which appeared to resonate with a pair of California senators.

The bill, which now goes to the full Senate, would prevent tech companies from promoting their own products and services over their rivals’, a clause positioned by its bipartisan sponsors positioned as a long overdue check on the power and influence of Silicon Valley titans.

But Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Alex Padilla, both California Democrats, revealed serious reservations about the effect the bill would have on companies and consumers in their home state.

Feinstein, who initially said she intended to oppose the bill, warned that it unfairly singled out a handful of companies and said it could introduce new privacy risks to consumers.

“It’s difficult to see the justification for a bill that regulates the behavior of only a handful of companies, while allowing everyone else to continue engaging in that exact same behavior,” she said.

She also raised concerns that it’s “very dangerous” legislation that could give an advantage to technology companies’ global rivals, and warned the bill causes “very significant security concerns.” She suggested the bill would prevent Apple from ensuring apps were safe before consumers download them. Apple had warned the committee of such trade-offs earlier this week, according to a letter from a company executive to senators viewed by The Post.

Padilla also raised similar concerns, saying the current version of the bill doesn’t “completely hit the mark.” Both California senators ultimately voted to advance the bill out of committee.

The debate highlighted the continued divisions as Democrats attempt to follow through on their long-running promise to rein in the tech industry through updates to antitrust law. The clock is ticking on these efforts as the 2022 midterm elections approach, and it becomes increasingly uncertain that they will be able to maintain their control of both chambers of Congress.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, DMinn., said that the bill was amended to ensure that privacy enhancing practices would not be prohibited by the legislation. She said 40 years after the advent of the internet, there still is not a single piece of “meaningful” legislation addressing the economy it created.

She had a sharp message for lobbyists trying to block the bill’s passage.

“Bring it on,” she said. “This is our moment.”