CHUCK TECH ‘PLAN’
Eyes fall antitrust vote
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer Majority Leader Chuck Schumer plans to put the antitrust bill designed to rein in Big Tech up for a vote — likely in the fall — the Democrat’s spokesperson exclusively told The Post.
“Sen. Schumer is working with Sen. [Amy] Klobuchar and other supporters to gather the needed votes and plans to bring it up for a vote,” Angelo Roefaro, Schumer’s spokesperson, told The Post in a statement on the antitrust legislation.
A Capitol Hill source close to the legislation says there are still some concerns that need to be ironed out — like worries that cracking down on tech could also hurt the companies’ content-moderation efforts.
The source also told The Post that Democrats are worried about getting enough Republicans for the 60 votes needed to pass the bill — which means Democrats in the 50-50 Senate need to be “airtight.”
Schumer’s intention comes after The Post reported the bill’s top Republican backer, Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, slammed Schumer for dragging his feet.
“It’s past time” for Schumer to “bring up our bipartisan antitrust bill cracking down on Big Tech’s anticompetitive behavior,” Grassley told The Post last month. “We need a date certain for a vote, and I call on Sen. Schumer to name one — if not before August recess, then this fall.”
Bipartisan bill
After years of pushing for the legislation, antitrust advocates are thrilled by Schumer’s vow.
“It’s clear that what hasn’t killed this bill made it stronger,” Luther Lowe, senior vice president of Public Policy at Yelp, told The Post. “Hundreds of millions have been spent to slow down this legislation and those efforts haven’t worked.”
Even as Schumer publicly applauded the legislation, saying it’s a “high priority,” he had delayed bringing anything to the floor despite reports he would move the legislation forward earlier this summer.
The bipartisan bill, cosponsored by Grassley and Klobuchar (D-Minn.), would reduce the power of tech giants like Amazon and Meta to stifle market competition.
The Internet Innovation and Choice Act — or socalled “non-discrimination bill” — would stop platforms from “self-preferencing” their content. For instance, Amazon would no longer be able to promote its own goods over third-party sellers on its e-commerce platform.