WASHINGTON – Ahead of tonight’s kickoff between the Denver Broncos and Indianapolis Colts, the Competitiveness Coalition issued a stark warning to the more than 11 million NFL fans who have streamed gridiron action via Amazon Prime: don’t get used to it.
“The millions of Americans getting ready to enjoy Thursday night football on Amazon Prime better not get too comfortable because if Senator Amy Klobuchar has her way, such streaming content could be a thing of the past,” said Scott Brown, Chair of the Competitiveness Coalition and former United States Senator and Ambassador. “If passed, Klobuchar’s so-called antitrust bill would subject major platforms accused of promoting their own products to intrusive investigations by the Federal Trade Commission, chaired by Lina Khan, a close ally of Senator Elizabeth Warren. Empowering left-wing activists to meddle in the affairs of private sector companies who provide a service enjoyed by so many rarely works out well for consumers.”
In a recent op-ed for National Review, Dan Savickas of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA), a member of the Coalition, outlined the problem well: “A federal antitrust bill targeting Big Tech companies such as Amazon would threaten this new arrangement. The American Innovation and Choice Online (AICO) Act, introduced by Senator Amy Klobuchar (D., Minn.), would make it presumptively illegal for a company to favor its own products and services on its platforms. And, given that Amazon’s Thursday Night Football streams are made available at no extra cost, it is very possible this could invoke the ire of the Federal Trade Commission.”
As recently as last week, Senator Klobuchar was expressing optimism about other antitrust bills moving through the House of Representatives. Meanwhile, her bill remains broadly unpopular on Capitol Hill, with a poll from Punchbowl News and the Locust Street Group surveying senior aides on Capitol Hill showing just 26 percent of aides said their boss supports it, 57 percent undecided and 17 percent oppose it.
For more information, please visit competitivenesscoalition.com. Members of the press can contact the coalition at press@competitivenesscoalition.com.
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The Competitiveness Coalition is a first-of-its-kind group educating the public and advocating for policies that put consumers first while fostering innovation and attracting new investment.