Fresh details have surfaced on new legislation that could be proposed in the US House of Representatives as soon as today that’s set to take on the likes of Apple, Amazon, Google, and Facebook. Called the Ending Platform Monopolies Act, the proposal contains a few bills including one that could regulate Apple’s App Store, Apple Music, and more.
Reported by the Wall Street Journal, House lawmakers are getting ready to submit the bipartisan legislation proposal that could have a big impact on the US tech giants if passed.
Specifically for Apple, one of the bills in the Ending Platform Monopolies Act “targets the ability of big tech companies to leverage their online platforms to favor their own products over competitors.”
That’s been a theme for Apple’s antitrust scrutiny over the last year from both its competitors like Spotify, Epic Games, Tile, and AliveCor, as well as US lawmakers.
Seen in a draft of the proposal by the WSJ, the new act includes the following (but is subject to change):
It shall be unlawful for a covered platform operator to own or control a line of business, other than the covered platform, when the covered platform’s ownership or control of that line of business gives rise to an irreconcilable conflict of interest.
If eventually passed in the House and Senate, that could usher in the regulation of Apple’s App Store, Apple Music, Find My app, and more.
One of WSJ’s sources says that “Each of the bills has both Republicans and Democrats signed onto it, with more expected to join once they are announced.” The bill would likely pass the House but we’ll have to wait and see if the Senate would see enough bipartisan support for the act.
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