John Oliver galvanized his Last Week Tonight viewers to join in the fight for net neutrality by inciting a flood of comments on the FCC website. He focused on two tech antitrust bills last night.
Oliver explained how big tech companies rule the internet. Oliver talked about how the power of these companies could stifle innovation and how lawmakers could change that.
Oliver said that the problem with letting a few companies control the whole economy is that it limits what can be done by startup companies. An innovative app or website might never get off the ground because it could be buried in search results or ripped off completely.
The American Choice and Innovation Act (AICO) and the Open App Markets Act are two of the bills Oliver mentioned.
Major tech companies would no longer be able to recommend their own services and developers would no longer be able to sell their apps on the app store. Amazon would be banned from favoring its own private-label products over those from independent sellers. The Open App Markets Act would make it easier for users to install third-party apps.
The bills would open the door for innovation and allow the internet to return to what it was intended to be.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer hasn't called for a vote on the bills yet. As Congress prepares to vote on a bipartisan gun control bill, nothing has been scheduled to bring them up.
Fight for the Future's Evan Greer and Luther Lowe were ecstatic over Oliver's Sunday segment. Lowe urged people to stop what they were doing and watch the show.
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