American Innovation and Choice Online Act

by | Jul 22, 2022 | marketing blogs

  • The American Innovation and Choice Online Act was created to ban big tech companies from favoring their own services in an anticompetitive way.
  • Instead of big tech companies dominating the digital marketplace, small businesses and entrepreneurs will have an equal opportunity.
  • Boiling Point Media is one of the small businesses that is rapidly growing as a full service marketing agency and film production company.

 

It is no secret that technology has grown rapidly over the past decade. Diving even deeper, over the past 2-3 years consumers are spending the majority of their time online. Unless you have been living under a rock, you may have noticed that companies such as Amazon, Apple, Meta and Google have dominated this tech era and I believe they will continue to do so. This being said, government efforts to supervise big tech businesses are being made. At the beginning of this year, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed the American Innovation and Choice Online Act. This bill was created to ban big tech companies from favoring their own services in an anticompetitive way. Okay let’s talk in simpler terms. When you pay for something on an app provided through Apple, you have to use Apple’s payment methods. This bill would allow apps to use their own payment systems. When you search a product on Amazon, the first items to pop up are Amazon’s in-house products. This bill would not allow Amazon to preference their products over third-party sellers. The same goes for Google, they would not be allowed to surface their own reviews over others in search results.

 

What Supporters and Critics are Saying

Senators, industry groups, and other supporters of the legislation argue that the bill would eliminate many concerns about big tech firms competing with an advantage online. Instead of big tech companies dominating the digital marketplace, small businesses and entrepreneurs will have an equal opportunity to succeed. Meaningful regulations will prohibit large companies from creating unfair advantages for themselves. Supporters believe the bill would lead to a better customer experience with lower prices, more options, and better product offerings.

Industry groups and critics opposed to this legislation argue the bill is vague, overly broad, and will hurt consumers. Amazon raised the concern that this bill only applies to a handful of businesses, what about the other large companies conducting in the same practices? Does the bill actually regulate foul play or is it just here to take away the success of hard working companies? Apple expressed the concern that the bill could hurt the company’s ability to maintain platform security. The last thing consumers want is for their phone to be hacked or to encounter malware attacks. Critics argue that the bill would ultimately harm big tech companies, consumers and overall competition online.

Just last week this bill was revised to accommodate feedback and concerns that several members expressed about the bill. Even after the revisions, there are still concerns regarding the vagueness and language of the bill. The bill aims to create an even playing field for small businesses. However, when it comes to security concerns it may lead to unforeseen consequences, like harming many of the very same consumers that they are trying to protect. Will the bill pass through the Senate? Will the House agree as well? Only time will tell.

 

American Innovation and Choice Online Act at Boiling Point Media

Here at Boiling Point Media we pride ourselves on integrity and honesty. America was founded on equal opportunity and we believe this should take effect in the world of business. We are a small business that is rapidly growing because we work hard and are good at what we do. This bill would allow us to be in the spotlight in places that we are not given that chance to be right now. We do believe that more thought and time needs to go into the specifics of this bill in order for consumers to be protected. 

The cyber world was created to give consumers what they want, when they want it. There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes of digital marketing and every agency is in a foot race to be the best. The bottom line is that there exists a need to address a very real competition problem in our economy. Dominant online platforms possess enormous economic power, with the ability and demonstrated willingness to impede competition in ways that damage both competing sellers and consumers. We need tools to challenge abuses of that power. The American Innovation and Online Choice Act does that, but we also need to confirm that Amazon and other covered platforms have the right to show that their actions are not harmful to competition or are otherwise needed to protect consumer privacy and our national and cyber- security.

 

Boiling Point Media Wants to Work With You

Boiling Point Media is your number one choice for Advertising in OKC and surrounding areas. We offer multiple services including content creation, brand development, video production, SEO, Web Design, and so much more! To see some of the work we have already done, feel free to visit our website, give us a call, or even stop by in person to chat with us! However you contact us, we’d love to hear from you. We want to help your business grow to its boiling point.

 

Phone

405-286-9635

 

Address

801 N Robinson Ave STE J-11,

Oklahoma City, OK 73116

 

Return to blog