Key Points:
- Major technology companies successfully killed the Based Act in California in just over 30 days.
- State Senator Scott Wiener sponsored the bill to stop platforms like Apple from favoring their own products.
- Technology giants previously spent over $100 million to defeat a similar federal law in 2022.
- The European Commission recently issued more than $7 billion in fines to big tech companies using similar antitrust rules.
Some of the world’s biggest technology companies just flexed their political muscle in California. Apple, Google, and their peers quickly killed a new state bill aimed at helping smaller technology rivals compete fairly. This swift victory shows exactly how much power these giant corporations hold in their home state.
State Senator Scott Wiener, a Democrat from San Francisco, sponsored the legislation. Supporters called it the Based Act. The bill brought together an unusual team of advocates for smaller technology companies. Y Combinator, a well-known startup incubator, joined forces with consumer groups and an army of small businesses to advance the measure. They wanted to stop massive platforms, like Apple’s App Store, from unfairly promoting their own products over tools made by competitors.
However, the proposed law collapsed completely within its final week. The technology giants organized a massive pressure campaign and simply crushed it. The California Chamber of Commerce and a major technology trade group, the Chamber of Progress, led the charge. They made defeating the Based Act their absolute top priority for the entire year. Thanks to their intense efforts, lobbyists buried the legislation in slightly more than 30 days.
Senator Wiener, who is currently running for Congress, expressed deep frustration with the outcome. He stated that the companies flooded the Capitol with lobbyists to trash the bill and spread misinformation. He described the pushback as a massive tidal wave that left his side at a severe disadvantage. This overwhelming response highlights the powerful machine these companies built to kill any law that threatens their massive profits, especially in a state as large as California.
The Based Act closely mirrors antitrust rules that currently exist in Europe. Technology companies hate those European laws because they threaten to cost the industry tens of billions of dollars every single year. In fact, the European Commission has already imposed more than $7 billion in fines on big technology companies over the past 2 years alone. Joseph Coniglio, a researcher at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, noted that these corporations desperately want to keep those strict rules out of the United States.
The Chamber of Progress did not waste a single minute fighting the California bill. Before Senator Wiener even finished his opening speech introducing the legislation on March 18, the group published a statement attacking his proposal. The group represents major members such as Alphabet, Amazon, and Apple. They quickly urged voters to call their local politicians and complain. They also ran advertisements claiming the new law would make internet searches useless, slow down package deliveries, and make smartphones less secure.
Y Combinator and other supporters tried their best to counter this narrative. They argued that the giant companies exaggerated the impacts and lied about the potential costs to consumers. But their efforts failed. The same fight happened just a few years ago at the national level. Back in 2022, Google, Apple, Amazon, and Meta teamed up and spent over $100 million on lobbying and advertisements to kill the American Innovation and Choice Online Act in Congress. Smaller companies like Yelp and DuckDuckGo supported both the federal bill and the recent California attempt.
When the Based Act appeared, the massive network of technology lobbyists dusted off the same arguments they used to kill the federal bill. Five different major trade organizations joined forces to fight the California measure. The companies also took the rare step of getting directly involved very early in the state legislative process. Kent Walker, Google’s president of global affairs, publicly called the state bill worse than European laws. Tim Powderly, a senior director at Apple, wrote a letter warning lawmakers that the rules would force companies to waste time on compliance rather than building new things.
The technology giants even paid ordinary people to fight for them. Jerick Sobie, a small business owner in California, testified against the bill. He told lawmakers the rules would hurt his shop. Later, Sobie admitted during an interview that a group called the Connected Commerce Council actually paid him to testify and covered all his travel expenses. Amazon and Google heavily fund this specific council. Sobie defended his actions, calling corporate money a necessary evil because small-business owners lack the cash to lobby politicians.
The bill officially died on April 20. It failed a key vote inside a privacy policy committee. State Senator Christopher Cabaldon runs that committee. During an interview, Cabaldon defended his vote by praising the technology industry. He pointed out that the sector provides millions of jobs and generates massive tax revenue for California. However, records show Cabaldon has close ties to the Chamber of Progress through a Democratic political group called NewDEAL.
After the committee killed the bill, Ben Golombek from the California Chamber of Commerce sent an email celebrating the victory. He called the defeat a true team effort and told his allies to thank the politicians who voted against it. Golombek also warned his team to stay awake. He noted that Senator Wiener never gives up easily and might try to revive the idea later this year. When reporters asked Wiener if he plans to try again, he simply told them to stay tuned.
