Technology firms often act as both market participants and market operators, drawing concern from Congress that these companies are self-preferencing their products and harming competition. In a new insight, Director of Technology and Innovation Policy Jeffrey Westling and Technology and Innovation Policy Analyst Juan Londoño review two bills scheduled for markup by the Senate Judiciary Committee intended to address these concerns and examine how each bill’s proposed changes would affect consumers.

Key Points:

• The American Innovation and Choice Online Act and the Open App Markets App were recently introduced in the Senate to address concerns of self-preferencing by technology companies.
• These bills discount the significant benefits to consumers that often come with greater size and integration.
• Rather than focus solely on the size of companies or propping up individual competitors to large firms, Congress should instead direct its attention to anticompetitive behavior with a clear eye toward consumer welfare.

Read the analysis