Wheeler Blames Tech ‘Scare Tactics’ for Legislative Failures

The tech industry’s “scare tactic” ad campaigns have resulted in weaker consumer protection in the U.S. than in the EU, former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler blogged Wednesday. The estimated $100 million the industry has spent in recent ads against privacy and antitrust legislation doomed bipartisan bills that advanced through various committees on Capitol Hill, he wrote for the Brookings Institution, where he's a visiting fellow. Wheeler lamented the failure of Congress to pass the Kids Online Safety Act (see 2212200069), the Open App Markets Act and the American Innovation and Choice Act, as well as the American Data Protection and Privacy Act. Meanwhile, the EU enacted the Digital Markets Act. The “actions of American companies appear to only benefit European consumers,” he wrote. “It will be interesting to see what Big Tech and their industry association do in the next Congress” when confronted with consumer needs in the U.S.