Dozens of companies and small business groups support the US bill to rein in big tech companies

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Dozens of companies and businesses are sending a letter to US senators on Monday urging them to support a bill aimed at reining in the biggest tech companies, such as Amazon.com. (AMZN.O) and the alphabet (GOOGL.O) The Google.

US Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar and lawmakers from both parties said last week that they have the Senate votes needed to pass legislation that would block technology platforms, including Apple (AAPL.O) and Facebook, from favoring their own business activities on their platform.

The companies supporting the measure, which include Yelp, Sonos, DuckDuckGo and Spotify, described it as a “moderate and reasonable bill that directly targets well-documented abuses by the largest Internet platforms.”

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Other signatories include the American Booksellers Association, the American Independent Business Alliance, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and the Kelkoo Group.

The organizations urged the Senate to pass the bill, saying it would update antitrust laws so that smaller companies would have room to compete.

Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google logos in a collage/file image

Klobuchar said last week that she believes she has the 60 votes in the Senate needed to finish the debate and move to a vote on the last paragraph. There is a similar bill in the House of Representatives.

The Senate is expected to vote on the bill this summer, possibly as early as late June, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The sources said the House of Representatives is then expected to vote on the Senate version. Read more

Amazon.com, the Chamber of Commerce, and others have taken aim at this action. Read more

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Tech giants said the bill would threaten popular consumer products like Google Maps and AmazonBasics, and make it difficult for companies to protect the security and privacy of their users.

Amazon criticized the bill, saying in a Blog post The bill jeopardizes two things American consumers love most about Amazon: the wide selection and low prices made possible by opening our store to third-party selling partners, and the promise of fast and free shipping through Amazon Prime.

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(Reporting by Diane Bartz) Editing by Chris Reese

Our criteria: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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