Progressive members of the U.S. House of Representatives are urging the Senate Majority Leader to take action on a pair of antitrust bills aimed at reining in the power of tech giants.
The letter, penned by members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, urges Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to call a vote on the American Innovation and Choice Online Act and Open Markets Act, two pieces of antitrust legislation making their way through Congress.
More specifically, the lawmakers are urging Schumer to hold a vote on the two bills before the upcoming months-long recess.
The two bills were introduced after a 16-month congressional investigation of tech giants like Apple, Amazon, Meta, and Google.
The bills would place a number of restrictions on tech giants. The American Choice and Innovation Act would prohibit them from favoring their own products and services, while the Open Markets Act lays out a number of regulations on app stores and marketplaces.
In Apple's case, the bills could force the company to allow alternate app stores and payment systems on App Store. The iPhone maker has lobbied hard against the bills, and has argued that they would threaten the privacy and security of its platforms.
According to the lawmakers, the bills are the result of a thorough legislation, have the full support of the Biden Administration, and are popular among the public.
"These bills are ready for a vote and we urge you to schedule the vote on them in the next few weeks," the legislators wrote.
The Congressional Progressive Caucus represents 100 U.S. Representatives from 34 different states.
Apple and other tech giants are facing increased antitrust scrutiny elsewhere in the world, such as the European Union. The EU is set to adopt two new legislative packages that could place restrictions on tech giants ranging from barring self-preferencing to forcing Apple to open up its software platforms.
