BASED? What to Make of California’s Newly Proposed Digital Antitrust Rules

California has introduced the “Blocking Anticompetitive Self-preferencing by Entrenched Dominant platforms (BASED) Act,” becoming the first state to propose heavy-handed, tech-specific antitrust rules that mirror the European Union’s Digital Markets Act. Announced by state senator Scott Wiener at an event hosted by the industry group Y Combinator, the BASED Act aims to rein in purported anticompetitive behavior by America’s leading technology platforms—many of which call California home. Specifically, the legislation focuses on banning so-called “self-preferencing,” a common practice in the digital economy where firms integrate complementary services.

But is there even a real competition problem for the BASED Act to solve? Does the legislation go too far ahead of California’s ongoing efforts to amend its existing antitrust regime? Will the effects of a ban on self-preferencing be similar to those in Europe, where there is already evidence that consumers and small businesses have been harmed?

Please join ITIF’s Schumpeter Project on Competition Policy for a panel with top experts to discuss this proposed legislation, its implications for competition in California, and its potential effects on America’s leading tech firms, innovation, and consumers.

Questions for the speakers? Ask on Slido.