AMERICA Act

The Advertising Middlemen Endangering Rigorous Internet Competition Accountability (AMERICA) Act (S.1073) is a proposed bipartisan antitrust bill in the United States Congress.[1] The legislation was introduced by Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) in the 118th Congress on March 30, 2023.

AMERICA Act
Great Seal of the United States
Long titleAdvertising Middlemen Endangering Rigorous Internet Competition Accountability Act
Announced inthe 118th United States Congress
Number of co-sponsors10
Legislative history

The legislation aims to combat monopoly power in the advertising technology (adtech) market and has been characterized as an effort to rein in Google and Facebook's dominance in the sector.[2][3] The legislation is roughly equivalent to legislation proposed by Lee in the 117th Congress.[1]

Background

Google and Facebook controlled an estimated 48.4% of spending in the digital advertising market as of 2022.[4] In January 2023, the United States Department of Justice filed an antitrust suit against Google over alleged anti-competitive conduct in the digital advertising sector.[5]

In the 117th Congress, Lee introduced the Competition and Transparency in Digital Advertising Act (CTDA), which Lee described as "functionally identical" to the AMERICA Act.[6] The CTDA received six Senate cosponsors in the 117th Congress.[1]

Provisions

The AMERICA Act would specifically amend the Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914 “to prevent conflicts of interest and promote competition in the sale and purchase of digital advertising”.[7]

If enacted, the legislation would curb the ability of companies who process over $20 billion in digital advertising transactions from controlling more than one area of the broader digital advertising business. The AMERICA Act would also prevent "demand-side" digital advertising platforms from owning "supply-side" platforms operating in the sector in most circumstances.[8] Additionally, the legislation would also institute regulations on medium-sized companies in the adtech market which process over $5 billion in digital advertising transactions.[9]

Legislative history

On May 3, 2023, the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust and Consumer Rights held a hearing to consider the legislation.[10]

Cosponsors

In addition to Lee, the legislation has been cosponsored by ten U.S. Senators.[11]

Democratic cosponsors:

Republican cosponsors:

See also

References
  1. "S.4258 - Competition and Transparency in Digital Advertising Act". Congress.gov. Retrieved 2023-03-30.
  2. "Bipartisan US lawmakers introduce bill aimed at Google, Facebook ad clout". Reuters. 2023-03-30. Retrieved 2023-03-31.
  3. Shields, Ronan (2023-03-30). "The AMERICA Act spotlights Capitol Hill's ingrained antipathy for Big Tech". Digiday. Retrieved 2023-03-31.
  4. Rogers, James (2023-01-04). "Google and Facebook's dominance in digital ads challenged by rapid ascent of Amazon and TikTok". MarketWatch. Retrieved 2023-03-31.
  5. Feiner, Lauren. "DOJ files second antitrust suit against Google, seeks to break up its ad business". CNBC. Retrieved 2023-03-31.
  6. Boyle, Alyssa (2023-03-30). "Utah Senator Mike Lee Introduces (Yet Another) Antitrust Bill Targeting Ad Tech". AdExchanger. Retrieved 2023-03-31.
  7. Patlan, Kennedy; Lau, Rachel; Cramer, Carly (2023-04-01). "March 2023 U.S. Tech Policy Roundup". Tech Policy Press. Retrieved 2023-05-05.
  8. Barwick, Ryan (2023-05-05). "Senators introduce a new bill aimed at big ad tech". Marketing Brew. Retrieved 2023-05-05.
  9. Lima, Cristiano (2023-03-31). "Washington's TikTok tribes, explained". Washington Post. Retrieved 2023-05-05. The bill titled the Advertising Middlemen Endangering Rigorous internet Competition Accountability (AMERICA) Act is meant to spur competition in the digital ads industry by limiting large digital ad companies from controlling more than one area of the digital ad business if they process more than $20 billion in digital ad transactions.
  10. Blackburn, Piper Hudspeth (2023-05-03). "US Sens. Tout Bill That Would Make Google Divest Ad Units - Law360". Law360. Retrieved 2023-05-05.
  11. "Cosponsors: S.1073 — 118th Congress (2023-2024)". Congress.gov. Retrieved 2023-05-04.
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