The developer advocate, Engine, and ACT describe how the upcoming legislation to be marked up in the House Judiciary fails to support those it claims to “protect.”
Washington D.C., June 22nd, 2021 – The Developers Alliance has joined with ACT | The App Association, and Engine in sending a letter expressing concerns for tomorrow’s bill markup in the House Judiciary Committee. In their letter, the organizations note that the bills in question, while ostensibly aimed at large technology companies, will likely to have a number of downstream consequences for smaller players in the ecosystem
The organizations ask Chairman Nadler, Ranking Member Jordan, Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law Chairman Cicilline, and Ranking Member Buck to approach the assessment of these bills with caution regarding the impact they will have on businesses who have not been identified as “Big Tech.”
“While [startups] are the supposed ‘beneficiaries’ of action in the competition policy space, a narrow focus on ‘big tech’ and policy proposals aimed only at perceived abuses by these companies—while ignoring their impacts on smaller firms—may actually harm competition in technology-driven sectors.”
These bills include oversteps to rectify perceived predatory behaviour in competition, acquisitions, privacy, and more, even though the broad developer community does not identify with the lawmaker’s assertions.
“As Congress moves to mark up a series of tech-focused bills they must bear in mind the consequences not only on the large platforms but the small tech companies and the developers that power them,” stated Sarah Richard, Policy Counsel & Head of US Policy. “Sweeping legislation will impact this entire ecosystem, thus any legislation impacting developers should be made thoughtfully and with developer input.”
