This report was originally posted to thelosteconomy.com.
Arlington, VA — The American Consumer Institute (ACI) has released a report analyzing the potential dangers of the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (AICOA), a legislative proposal that would impose sweeping restrictions on tech platforms, including banning self-preferencing practices. ACI’s analysis highlights how such restrictions could lead to higher consumer costs, reduced innovation, compromised data privacy, and significant economic losses, particularly impacting Amazon and its consumers.
Read the full report here.
Key Takeaways:
- Impact on Consumer Costs: Banning self-preferencing practices could force Amazon to decouple services like Prime Video from its subscription package, resulting in consumers losing an estimated $16.9 billion annually in savings.
- Threats to Data Privacy: Provisions requiring tech companies to share consumer data with third-party providers would increase cybersecurity risks and jeopardize consumer trust.
- Economic Consequences: The proposed legislation could disrupt Amazon’s operations, undermining the company’s ability to offer Prime’s hallmark fast shipping services and threatening the 3.8 million jobs Amazon supports nationwide.
- Unintended Competitive Disparities: AICOA exempts traditional brick-and-mortar retailers from similar restrictions, creating an uneven regulatory environment that penalizes online platforms while allowing traditional retailers to self-preference their private label products without constraint.
The American Consumer Institute urges lawmakers to reconsider AICOA’s broad and potentially harmful mandates. Rather than pursuing blanket bans, legislators should prioritize evidence-based policies grounded in the Consumer Welfare Standard to ensure antitrust regulations foster competition and consumer benefits without stifling innovation. ACI calls on Congress to engage with stakeholders to refine legislation and safeguard the substantial consumer and economic benefits offered by tech platforms.
For more information or to discuss this issue further, ACI is available to engage with stakeholders and policymakers.
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The American Consumer Institute is a nonprofit education and research organization. For more information about the Institute, visit www.TheAmericanConsumer.Org or follow us on X @ConsumerPal.