Washington, D.C. – In response to statements made during today’s Senate Judiciary Committee markup of the Open App Markets Act, which would give Chinese companies a competitive advantage against American businesses and put consumers’ data at risk, TechNet SVP Carl Holshouser issued the following statement:

“The Open App Markets Act would give China a competitive advantage over American businesses. The bill would hold U.S. companies that employ thousands of American workers to a higher standard than we hold Chinese companies. It would also require transferring data of American consumers to these Chinese companies. Congress must focus on legislation that strengthens America’s global leadership, supports U.S. companies, and protects Americans’ data and privacy.”

Below are quotes from several Senators on the Judiciary Committee who expressed concerns during today’s markup about moving this bill out of committee:

Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA): I think it’s very important that the bill provides sufficient protections for cybersecurity and user privacy.”

Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA): “We need to be careful not to create or exacerbate other problems for consumers on issues like privacy, cybersecurity, and potential hate speech.”

Senator John Cornyn (R-TX): “We are facing a serious inflection point at the interaction of cybersecurity and national security. And I don’t think we should understate the harm of foreign and bad faith domestic actors to try and gain access to Americans’ phones and computers under the guise of open development.”