Competition

Small businesses and technology platforms work together to drive economic growth, product innovation, and value for customers across the country. The value of partnerships between businesses, large and small, and powered by digital tools and technology, is felt in every aspect of life and every community across America. That’s why tens of millions of digitally empowered small businesses are concerned that state and federal policymakers’ attempts to investigate, regulate, or even disrupt the services offered by digital platforms and marketplaces could drive up costs and inadvertently harm small businesses. 

Supporting and serving American small businesses is good business. Many of the world’s most innovative companies invested billions of dollars in research and development to provide online tools and services to more than 30 million American small businesses. Businesses have turned access to those tools and the opportunities they provide into local jobs, community pride, and national economic growth. To compete in an increasingly global market, small businesses need to access the right tools at affordable prices. Access to accurate digital marketing, scalable online tools, and robust online marketplaces bring products to international audiences; the difference between success and stagnation for modern small businesses. We should do all that we can to ensure access to these digital tools and technology remains affordable, easier to utilize, and not disrupted.  

How America’s small businesses rely on digital platform’s investments:

• 85% confirm that digital services help the performance of business operations.
• More than 40% report customer growth is directly attributable to the use of digital tools.

Unintended consequences of regulation:

• Make running a small business more challenging and expensive by limiting access to affordable data.
• Policymakers do not have the expertise to regulate digital platforms in a vacuum effectively. Legislative action will directly impact the millions of small businesses that rely on digital tools and services daily. 

The digital environment and increase in competition for small businesses have allowed for better products, more innovation, and lower costs for consumers. They would not be able to find or scale production to new markets without them. Changing the way America’s leading technology companies support small businesses would inadvertently and unnecessarily harm our national economy, local communities, and the tens of millions of small businesses that drive them.