Press Releases

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05) introduced the Augmenting Compatibility and Competition by Enabling Service Switching (ACCESS) Act of 2021 as part of the most aggressive bipartisan effort in recent memory to strengthen America’s antitrust laws. The ACCESS Act, cosponsored by Congressman Burgess Owens (UT-04), would tackle anticompetitive behavior by online companies by lowering barriers to entry and making it easier for consumers and businesses to switch platforms. 

By establishing data interoperability and portability requirements for dominant online firms, the ACCESS Act gives new entrants a fair shot in the digital economy while giving users the freedom to choose by ensuring that they can easily move their data to competing services. It also includes strong privacy and security protections for users’ data.

“In today’s digital economy, we must give users the power to choose services that best meet their needs, while preserving investment and innovation,” said Rep. Scanlon. “The ACCESS Act opens up digital markets to greater competition, which increases pressure on large online platforms to improve quality, privacy, and security. It’s past time to expand opportunities for consumers, workers, and small businesses by holding Big Tech monopolies accountable.”

The ACCESS Act is part of an agenda consisting of five bipartisan bills drafted by lawmakers on the Antitrust Subcommittee, led by Chairman David N. Cicilline (RI-01) and Ranking Member Ken Buck (CO-04), which last year completed a 16-month investigation into the state of competition in the digital marketplace and the unregulated power wielded by Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google.

This bipartisan anti-monopoly agenda for “A Stronger Online Economy: Opportunity, Innovation, Choice” includes the following bills:

• The “American Innovation and Choice Online Act” to prohibit discriminatory conduct by dominant platforms, including a ban on self-preferencing and picking winners and losers online. The bill is sponsored by Chairman Cicilline and cosponsored by Rep. Lance Gooden (TX-05).
• The “Platform Competition and Opportunity Act” prohibits acquisitions of competitive threats by dominant platforms, as well as acquisitions that expand or entrench the market power of online platforms. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (NY-08) and cosponsored by Ranking Member Buck.
• The “Ending Platform Monopolies Act” eliminates the ability of dominant platforms to leverage their control over multiple business lines to self-preference and disadvantage competitors in ways that undermine free and fair competition. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) and cosponsored by Rep. Lance Gooden (TX-05).
• The “Augmenting Compatibility and Competition by Enabling Service Switching (ACCESS) Act” promotes competition online by lowering barriers to entry and switching costs for businesses and consumers through interoperability and data portability requirements. This bill is sponsored by Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05) and cosponsored by Rep. Burgess Owens (UT-04).
• The “Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act” updates filing fees for mergers for the first time in two decades to ensure that the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission have the resources they need to aggressively enforce the antitrust laws. This bill is sponsored by Rep. Joe Neguse (CO-02) and cosponsored by Rep. Victoria Spartz (IN-05).

Find the full text of the ACCESS Act here.

The package of antitrust bills introduced today will be referred to the House Judiciary Committee. Read more about the bipartisan agenda here.

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