Washington – Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, has announced today he is reintroducing a bill aimed at digital ad services, which he told reporters is the same as a bill he and other senators introduced last session called the Competition and Transparency in Digital Advertising Act. Lee acknowledged in a news conference this week that digital advertising is a significant part of the U.S. economy, and that has been part of the reason Congress has not passed legislation.
This session’s digital ad bill would force the break up under Justice Department supervision of any U.S. company earning more than $20 billion in revenue from digital ads. Companies earning $5 billion in ad revenue would face transparency disclosures, requiring them to report the revenue streams they get from different business units.
The Computer & Communications Industry Association has advocated for a competitive tech industry for more than 50 years, supporting regulators when a dominant player abused its market position.
The following can be attributed to CCIA President Matt Schruers:
“There is nothing American about Congress dictating the size, shape and structure of competitive businesses. Gerrymandering rules around one group of businesses for the benefit of another is neither good competition policy nor responsible economic policy.
“When the digital segment of the global ad market is seeing record growth and market shares are declining, there’s no basis for government intervention in the structure of ad technology.”