Posted on January 2, 2023.

Tech companies have built a perfect record so far in blocking major legislation in Congress,” The Wall Street Journal observed as the final effort to pass tech-related regulation failed in the closing days of the 117th Congress. However, the same companies that spend lavishly to oppose American consumer protection efforts are buckling under as European Union (EU) rules prepare to be phased in between now and 2024.

WHAT $100 MILLION BUYS

A key to Big Tech’s unblemished record, The Wall Street Journal reported, was “prodigious spending on Beltway lobbying and grassroots politicking.” Advertising to influence Congress not to pass tech-related legislation exceeded $100 million, the story continued.

Much of this advertising was alarmist as opposed to factual. One television commercial by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) warned that Congress wants to “dismantle technologies we depend on.” The ad closed with the alarmist line, “Don’t take away our tech.”

Far from taking anything away, Congress was proposing protecting children from harmful content (the Kids Online Safety Act), giving app developers and consumers more rights in app stores (the Open App Markets Act), and expanding consumer choice by prohibiting e-commerce platforms from giving preference to their own products (the American Innovation and Choice Act). That these limited actions were the best Congress could try to accomplish was, itself, the result of the ongoing advertising and lobbying blitzkrieg of tech companies.

What had appeared to be progress on legislation protecting the privacy rights of Americans was stopped by industry lobbying. After being reported out of the House Commerce Committee with a bipartisan 53-2 vote, The American Data Protection and Privacy Act never made it to the House floor.

A similar situation occurred regarding antitrust legislation. After an exhaustive House Judiciary Committee report, the opportunity for broad antitrust legislation looked hopeful when a series of bills were sent to the House floor with bipartisan support. Again, the bills never received a House vote.

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