The Internet Accountability Project (IAP), a conservative tech group, launched a nationwide ad campaign Wednesday urging the passage of a bill targeting Apple and Google.
The ads, set to launch on Newsmax, are intended to support Republican senators who backed antitrust legislation designed to curb the anticompetitive practices of major tech companies, according to a review of the ad campaign by Daily Caller News Foundation. The ads thank the senators for backing the Open App Markets Act, which if passed would prevent app stores like Google Play and Apple’s App Store from forcing developers to use the tech giants’ in-app payment systems as a condition of distribution. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Conservative Tech Groups Slam Ex-Intelligence Officials For Defending Monopolies, Urge Passage Of Antitrust Bills)
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“Big Tech’s millions don’t stand a chance against the groundswell of grassroots support for putting an end to their unfair and anticompetitive practices,” Mike Davis, IAP founder and president, told the DCNF. “We thank these senators for their leadership and patriotism. We encourage them to continue their hard work so this bipartisan bill can pass the full Senate.”
The Open App Markets Act passed in the Senate Judiciary Committee last week with strong bipartisan support, and it will now head to the Senate floor. The ads thank Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham and Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley for supporting the bill, as well as their previous legislative efforts on Big Tech issues.
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The campaign also targets lobbying efforts by major tech companies and technology trade groups, who have strongly opposed the passage of the Open App Markets Act along with other antitrust bills. Google and Apple both cautioned against the antitrust bills, warning they would degrade popular services like Google Maps while also posing potential privacy risks by allowing unvetted apps to be downloaded on Apple and Google devices.
“Right now, Big Tech companies like Google and Facebook and their shady lobbyists are spending millions of dollars trying to smear Senator Cruz because he’s standing up to them,” Cruz’s ad reads. “He joined with other senators to advance the Open App Markets Act and Senate bill 2992. He’s standing up to their sweetheart deals with China and their liberal executives who want to crush small businesses and censor conservative voices.”
The ads urge viewers to call their senators and tell them to continue supporting efforts to take on Big Tech.
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