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Winter is coming for Americas tech industry. Sen. Amy KlobucharAmy KlobucharKlobuchar needs to put her antitrust legislation to the sunshine test Hillicon Valley: Amazon's Alabama union fight take two Senate Judiciary Committee to debate key antitrust bill MORE (D-Minn.) is marshaling forces to push antitrust legislation that would put Washington bureaucrats in charge of innovation and business decisions that have made Apple, Amazon, Google, and Microsoft so popular here and around the world.And as with the winter weather here in the capital, the best antidote is sunshine in the form of an open hearing to air very real concerns about how Klobuchars bills would hurt consumers and undermine Americas competitive standing in the world.

That kind of sunshine was absent last June when similar antitrust bills were marked-up in a closed House Judiciary Committee meeting that went all night long, without any input or testimony.But thats the point of going straight to a closed markup it lets the sponsors avoid a public hearing that puts sunshine on the proposed legislation. Still, that messy markup session tainted those antitrust bills to the point where Speaker Nancy PelosiNancy PelosiKlobuchar needs to put her antitrust legislation to the sunshine test President Biden is blaming everyone else for surging inflation Fetterman calls for ban on congressional stock trading MORE (D-Calif.) has held them back from the House calendar so far.

But those bills could break loose if the Senate rams related legislation through, again without a hearing.

What would we learn at an open hearing on Klobuchars antitrust bills, with testimony from economists and internet security and privacy experts?First, herAmerican Innovation and Choice Online Actwould prohibit innovation that has given American consumers so many choices online.In her own words, Klobuchars bill wouldPrevent self-preferencingand discriminatory conduct.That bars Amazon from showing its generic products as alternatives to products from big name brands. Amazons 150 million Prime customers would no longer see a Prime badge signaling next-day shipping, since that would discriminate against sellers who dont have their products shipped from Amazon distribution centers.

A hearing on Klobuchars bill would also reveal that Google search results may no longer default to showing a Google map and reviews if search results include a nearby destination.Klobuchar says that would be illegal for biasing search results in favor of the dominant firm.

Perhaps most worrying for bill sponsors is that internet security experts would describe consequences when Klobuchars law stops a dominant platform from preventing another businesss product or service from interoperating. Apple could be penalized for blocking an app from its App Store, even when Apple believes there are risks of security or privacy breaches, whether from the app provider or from hackers who exploit access granted to the app.

At a hearing, wed learn that the bills mandated interoperability is precisely how a university researcher allowed Cambridge Analytica to steal the private data of millions of Facebook users.

A hearing would give Americans the chance to hear Klobuchar explain how her bill could constrain politically driven prosecution by FTC and DoJ officials demanding that a company do more to stop global warming or to advance economic and social justice for their workers.

If were lucky, the Senate hearing could also address Klobuchars second antitrust bill, thePlatform Competition and Opportunity Act. That bill would bar the largest American companies from acquiring related businesses, putting the brakes on growth and innovation at Amazon, Apple and Google. The highlight of the hearing would be Klobuchar explaining why her bill would lock-in those few companies as the enforcement targets, while carving-out Walmart and her home-state retailer Target even if they later grew beyond the size threshold in the law.

Finally, an open Senate hearing puts sunshine on what will alarm Americans whose retirement savings are invested in Apple, Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft. Those companies lead the world in R&D investment and innovation, yet would be prosecuted by a subjective and destructive antitrust regime untethered to traditional standards of consumer welfare. That would reduce Americas technological standing in the world, at a time when other nations are helping their own champions compete with us.

Unfortunately, Senate leadership may bow to Klobuchars pressure to bypass hearings and move straight to a closed markup in a committee she chairs. All major legislation, particularly when it impacts America's world-leading tech industry, needs to pass the Sunshine Test a fully open process of probing questions and debate.

If theres no Senate hearing, the concerning consequences discussed above would only be revealed when enforcement of the law begins. And thats when winter really comes for American consumers.

Steve DelBianco is President & CEO of NetChoice

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Klobuchar needs to put her antitrust legislation to the sunshine test | TheHill - The Hill