WASHINGTON, DC - Yesterday, Small Business Rising members sent a letter to House and Senate leadership urging them to pass the Big Tech bills by the end of the year.
Members of our coalition have long advocated for Congress to address Big Tech’s growing monopoly power, and now is the moment to advance legislation that will safeguard the right for independent businesses to compete and serve the needs of their communities.
The Hill covered the coalition letter on Nov 15th, 2022 in ‘Small-business group asks Congress to prioritize antitrust bill in lame duck.‘ Excerpts of the letter are included below and THE FULL LETTER CAN BE VIEWED HERE.
The below undersigned independent business associations — a coalition of small business organizations and individual entrepreneurs — write to underscore the urgency for Congress to advance legislation aiming to address Big Tech’s monopoly power. We urge you to make the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (S. 2992/H.R. 3816) a top priority in the lame duck.
Concentrated market power is the single biggest threat facing independent businesses, and the status quo in our digital markets is untenable. The bipartisan bills represent an unprecedented opportunity to start leveling the playfield for our small, independent businesses, and the window to do so is rapidly closing. We urge you to make congressional action to regulate Big Tech a priority for parity for small businesses.
We have long advocated for Congress to take action to address Big Tech’s growing market power. We supported the House Judiciary Committee’s extensive investigation into Big Tech’s monopoly power and enthusiastically advocated for the comprehensive package that passed out of the House Judiciary Committee in June 2021. We supported the companion legislation in the Senate – American Innovation and Choice Online Act (S. 2992, self-preferencing bill) – that passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this year and in recent months urged House and Senate leadership to bring the bills to the floor for a vote.
While Big Tech lobbyists flood lawmakers’ offices with falsehoods and claim to have the support of the small business community, the truth is our members see little future for American small business if the tech giants continue to corner the digital markets and use their power to favor their own products and block those of smaller rivals. Together with Congress, you will be making the online marketplace more competitive by ensuring entrepreneurs and small start-ups can compete, and that small, independent companies selling online are free to choose the best and most affordable services without fear of retribution from the tech giants.
Small businesses are the backbone of America’s economic dynamism and the vitality of our local communities. Now is the moment for policymakers to advance legislation that will safeguard the right for independent businesses to compete and serve the needs of their communities.
Sincerely,
Alliance for Pharmacy Compounding
American Booksellers Association
American Independent Business Alliance
American Specialty Toy Retailing Association
Austin Local Business Alliance
Cambridge Local First
Dane Buy Local
Greater Raleigh Merchants Association
Independent Office Products and Furniture Dealers Association
Institute for Local Self-Reliance
Local First Arizona
Louisville Independent Business Alliance
Love Live Local, Inc
Lowcountry Local First
Main Street Alliance
National Bicycle Dealers Association
National Sporting Goods Association
North American Hardware and Paint Association
People First Economy
Running Industry Association
Spokane Independent Metro Business Alliance
StayLocal, An Initiative of Urban Conservancy
World Pet Association
Yorktown Small Business Association
About Small Business Rising
Small Business Rising, a coalition of 30 organizations representing more than 100,000 independent businesses, formed in 2021 to urge policymakers to rein in monopoly power and inject fairness into a system that has long left small businesses at a competitive disadvantage. For media inquiries, please email media[at]smallbusinessrising[dot]net | SmallBusinessRising.net