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.
AICOA is back
Earlier today, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) introduced, or rather, reintroduced a bill proposal that seeks to “restore online competition and affordability by preventing the world’s largest digital platforms from abusing their market power to stifle competition, undercut online businesses and raise prices for American consumers.”
The AICOA was immediately endorsed by companies such as Mozilla, Y Combinator, Proton, Yelp, DuckDuckGo, Replit, and others, as well as by several antitrust scholars, advocates, and organizations.
In a nutshell, AICOA would apply to “platforms that have at least $175 billion in average annual gross revenue and reach at least 34% of U.S. subscriber households or 34% of U.S. monthly active users over the age of 12.”
In practice, if enacted, it would prohibit covered platforms from:
The bill would also allow federal and state agencies to pursue enforcement actions against Big Tech companies for conduct that harms competition, while carving out protections for privacy, security, and intellectual property.
Today’s reintroduction continues a years-long push to rein in Big Tech. First introduced in 2021, AICOA has repeatedly advanced with bipartisan support, but has never made it to the president’s desk.
Apple shoots back
In a statment to 9to5Mac, Apple said:
The company also drew parallels between AICOA and Europe’s DMA, adding that surveys have shown Europeans perceive their online experiences today as worse than before the DMA was enacted.
Apple also noted that AICOA could have a particularly negative impact on children, as it would undermine many of the protections, safeguards, parental controls, and trust and safety APIs it has added to its platforms over the years.
The company also reiterated many of the arguments it has made against the DMA in Europe, including the dangers of increased exposure to alternative app marketplaces and payment systems, of reduced oversight over purchases made outside the App Store, and the availability of adult-content apps through third-party distribution channels. Apple argued that AICOA could lead to similar trade-offs in the U.S. market.
Finally, the company pointed to a study it commissioned last year that found developers largely did not pass on DMA-related commission savings to consumers. According to the study, “despite benefiting from an average commission rate decrease of 10 percentage points, developers kept prices the same or increased the prices on 91% of products.”
What’s your take on AICOA? Let us know in the comments.
