Washington, D.C. – During today’s Senate Judiciary Committee markup of the Open App Markets Act, a bipartisan contingent of Senators raised concerns about the process, scope, and potential unintended consequences of the legislation. TechNet SVP Carl Holshouser released the following statement regarding today’s markup:
“While lawmakers say they want to look out for consumers, the Open App Markets Act would have the opposite effect by setting off a series of unintended consequences that would endanger Americans’ data, privacy, and security. This bill would make it easier for bad actors and foreign governments to install malware onto the phones and computers of millions of Americans, particularly those who are already vulnerable to these types of attacks. As we heard today, there are serious concerns about this legislation and how it will impact consumers and American competitiveness by giving China a technological advantage over American businesses. That is why, instead of rushing this bill through Congress, we are again calling for the passage of a national privacy law, something that more than 80 percent of voters say should be a priority, to ensure user data is protected and help businesses, especially small businesses, create jobs, stay in business, and grow.”
During the markup, Senators from both parties also expressed concerns with the bill:
Senator John Cornyn (R-TX): “I don’t think we should understate the harm of foreign and bad faith domestic actors to try to gain access to Americans’ phones and computers under the guise of open development … I worry that this legislation, though intended to stop abuses, will lead to a situation where consumers are simply unable to protect their personal data or keep malware off of their devices.”
Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA): “For a company to be covered by the bill, the company must have 50 million users in the United States. I’m concerned that this number was selected as a way to single out particular companies rather than because of the policy goals … it would seem to make sense to have the policy affect all companies that manage app stores of any reasonable size. This bill does not do that.”
Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA): “It’s not hard to imagine that some consumers might prefer a closed device that provides a layer of security and helps them prevent from inadvertently downloading malware or spam … We may be unintentionally providing an avenue for propagators of hate speech to dispute their placement within app stores.”
Senator John Kennedy (R-LA): “The bill last week, another this week, are very complex. They involve a huge part of our economy. We need to get them right. I am growing tired of being told, if I ask a question, that I’m in the pocket of Big Tech. It gets old. It’s disrespectful … The worry that many of my colleagues have, on both sides of the aisle, is that this bill’s going to get rammed down our throats on the floor of the Senate.”