ACCESS Act of 2021
Great Seal of the United States
Long titleTo promote competition, lower entry barriers, and reduce switching costs for consumers and businesses online.
Announced inthe 117th United States Congress
Number of co-sponsors28
Legislative history

The Augmenting Compatibility and Competition by Enabling Service Switching Act of 2021, or the ACCESS Act of 2021, is a proposed antitrust bill in the United States House of Representatives. The purpose of the legislation is to mandate data portability from Big Tech companies to provide users the ability to switch their data between platforms.[1]

The legislation was introduced on June 11, 2021, by Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA) with support from Democrats David Cicilline (D-RI) and Jerry Nadler (D-NY) and Republicans Ken Buck (R-CO) and Burgess Owens (R-UT).[1][2]

History

In the 116th Congress session, a similar bill with the same name was introduced in the Senate by Mark Warner (D-VA) and Josh Hawley (R-MO).[3] On May 25, 2022, Warner and Hawley introduced companion legislation in the Senate for the 117th United States Congress.[4]

Provisions

Proponents of the legislation argue that platforms that prohibit user data from being portable to another platform are engaging in anti-competitive behavior against competitors. The legislation defines user data as any information a covered platform collects unique to an individual or their device.[5] Covered platforms subject to these regulations are those with over 100 million monthly active users.[6]

The legislation creates a Technical Committee within the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that will be tasked with developing standards for interoperability and online data portability.[7] The legislation grants the FTC enforcement authority to penalize platforms that violate the legislation.[7]

Voting summary

On June 23, 2021, the House Committee on the Judiciary voted to advance the legislation to the House floor in a 29–19 vote.[8]

Legislative History

Congress Short title Bill number(s) Date introduced Sponsor(s) # of cosponsors Latest status
116th Congress ACCESS Act of 2019 S.2658 October 22, 2019 Mark Warner(D-VA) 2 Died in Committee.
117th Congress ACCESS Act of 2021 H.R.3849 June 11, 2021 Mary Gay Scanlon(D-PA) 28 Approved by Committee, sent to house floor
ACCESS Act of 2022 S.4309 May 25, 2022 Mark Warner(D-VA) 4 Referred to committees of jurisdiction.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 McGill, Margaret Harding; Gold, Ashley (2021-06-11). "Congress unveils bills to dismantle tech giants". Axios. Retrieved 2022-03-12.
  2. ↑ "H.R.3849 - 117th Congress (2021-2022): ACCESS Act of 2021". United States Congress. 2021-06-24. Retrieved 2022-03-12.
  3. ↑ Zakrzewski, Cat (June 11, 2021). "Bipartisan proposals in House would mean major changes for the way tech giants operate". Washington Post.
  4. ↑ "Lawmakers Reintroduce Bipartisan Legislation to Encourage Competition in Social Media". Mark R. Warner. Retrieved 2022-05-26.
  5. ↑ Ghaffary, Shirin (2021-06-11). "What you need to know about the House's opening bid to rein in Big Tech". Vox. Retrieved 2022-03-13.
  6. ↑ "Bill would require big social platforms to support data mobility". FCW. Retrieved 2022-03-13.
  7. 1 2 "Chairman Nadler Statement for the Markup of H.R. 3849, the Augmenting Compatibility and Competition by Enabling Service Switching (ACCESS) Act of 2021". U.S. House Judiciary Committee. 2021-06-23. Retrieved 2022-03-13.
  8. ↑ McKinnon, John D. (2021-06-24). "Google, Facebook Pressure Falls Short as Antitrust Measures Advance in House Committee". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2022-03-12.
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