Antitrust bill appears to be stalling on tech industry opposition, Klobuchar says
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An antitrust bill targeted at big tech companies like Apple (AAPL), Google (GOOGL) and Meta Platforms (META) appears to be stymied from passing by an "incredible onslaught of money," according to Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), one of the bill's sponsors.
The funding is going towards advertisements aimed at raising opposition to the antitrust bill, called The American Innovation and Choice Online Act, or AICOA.
The bill is intended to prevent the tech giants from favoring their own services over competitors. The legislation received backing from the U.S. Justice Department, which has explicitly expressed support for the AICOA, according to a Wall Street Journal report in late March. The legislation passed the Senate Judiciary Committee in January and was supported by all the panel's Democrats and five Republicans.
âWhat has slowed us down is the incredible onslaught of money, and thatâs what happens with monopolies,â Klobuchar said on Tuesday at the Code Conference in Los Angeles, according to a Bloomberg account of the event. âThe senators are talking about it, about the ads running in each state.â
The legislation may potentially fail to pass as Congress may run out of time before the midterm elections in November. 
The tech companies, who have expressed opposition for the bill in the past, have pointed out that it would make it more difficult to offer services.
In June Politico reported that Amazon (AMZN) CEO Andy Jassy was lobbying against the AICOA legislation, including calling Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
Also see, Antitrust bill targeting Amazon, Google, Apple may not exit Senate before summer recess.