Today, Small Business Rising members sent a letter to House and Senate leadership urging them to pass the Big Tech bills.
Concentrated market power is the single biggest threat facing independent businesses, and the status quo in our digital markets is untenable. The bipartisan package of bills is proof there is momentum on both sides of the aisle and represent an unprecedented opportunity to level the playfield for our small, independent businesses.
Big Tech lobbyists have flooded lawmakers’ offices with exaggerations and falsehoods about Congress’s push to address Big Tech’s gatekeeper power. They have frequently claimed to have the support of the small business community, even as recent reporting has shown otherwise. There is a dim future for American small business if the tech giants continue to corner our digital markets and use their gatekeeper power to favor their own products and block those of smaller rivals. Congress 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.
You can read the full letter here.
The letter was signed by the following groups:
Alliance for Pharmacy Compounding
Alliance of Independent Media Stores
American Booksellers Association
American Independent Business Alliance
American Specialty Toy Retailing Association
Austin Independent Business Alliance
Dane Buy Local
Cambridge Local First
Independent Office Products and Furniture Dealers Association
Institute for Local Self-Reliance
Local First Arizona
Lowcountry Local First
Louisville Independent Business Alliance
Main Street Alliance
North American Hardware and Paint Association
Shop Local Raleigh/Greater Raleigh Merchants Association
Spokane Independent Metro Business Alliance
Running Industry Association