U.S. Chamber Letter on S. 3197, the "Platform Competition and Opportunity Act of 2021"

TO THE MEMBERS OF THE UNITED STATES SENATE:

The Chamber strongly urges you to oppose S. 3197, the "Platform Competition and Opportunity Act of 2021." This legislation would overturn longstanding antitrust law in order to empower the federal government to pick winners and losers in the technology sector. Members of Congress who refrain from cosponsoring S. 3197 will receive credit for the Leadership component of their “How They Voted” rating.

Antitrust law should remain an area of widespread application firmly guided by economic analysis that weighs the total impact, both harms and benefits, that accrue to consumers. Antitrust should not be used to make acquisitions per se illegal, nor should it be used to punish companies who seek to be acquired. Antitrust laws should only intervene when analysis demonstrates consumer harm outweighs any corresponding benefits.

Legitimate policy debates that have arisen from the digitization of the economy are worthy of thoughtful discussion. However, policymakers should focus on the use of regulation (e.g. data privacy rules), not altering the role of antitrust enforcement, to address broader concerns. Such an outcome would end up with the government in the role of picking winners and losers in the marketplace.

The Chamber strongly opposes S. 3197.

Sincerely,

Neil L. Bradley