Washington, D.C. — Ahead of the Louisiana House Commerce Committee’s hearing on HB 518, a bill that would prevent large app distributors such as Apple and Google from using their dominance to harm other online businesses, the American Economic Liberties Project, Color Of Change, Fight for the Future, and Public Citizen sent a letter to Louisiana lawmakers, encouraging them to pass the bill. Economic Liberties also submitted testimony for the Committee’s record.

“Bills like HB 518 would give Louisiana the opportunity to protect small businesses, entrepreneurs, and consumers from the harmful gatekeeping powers of large app distributers like Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store,” said Pat Garofalo, Director of State and Local Policy at the American Economic Liberties Project. “This bill is part of growing momentum across the country to rein in Big Tech’s ever tightening grip over key areas of commerce. If passed, Louisiana could become a national leader on a vital area of economic policy.”

Google and Apple control 99% of the smartphone market and maintain monopoly power over mobile app store markets. They use this power to force developers and small businesses to agree to unfair and extortionary terms in order to reach consumers. In fact, Apple and Google charge up to 30 percent for the privilege of allowing businesses to transact with their own customers by forcing those businesses to use their app store’s own payment system or lose the sole source of access to those customers.

HB 518 would prevent these app store gatekeepers from imposing terms onto developers by opening up competition in payments systems, as well as protecting smaller companies that refrain from using Big Tech’s payment systems from retaliation. It would incentive developers to locate to Louisiana, a huge boom for companies already looking to relocate to another state.

For more information, read “States Are Right to Rebel Against Big Tech” in The New York Times.

Learn more about Economic Liberties here.

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The American Economic Liberties Project works to ensure America’s system of commerce is structured to advance, rather than undermine, economic liberty, fair commerce, and a secure, inclusive democracy. Economic Liberties believes true economic liberty means entrepreneurs and businesses large and small succeed on the merits of their ideas and hard work; commerce empowers consumers, workers, farmers, and engineers instead of subjecting them to discrimination and abuse from financiers and monopolists; foreign trade arrangements support domestic security and democracy; and wealth is broadly distributed to support equitable political power.