Sponsors (2)
The bill aims to open dominant search and ad platforms to competition, user choice, and stronger oversight—benefiting competitors, advertisers, and users—while imposing substantial compliance, privacy, enforcement, and litigation risks that could raise costs, slow transactions, and complicate implementation.
Small businesses, competing search/ad providers, and everyday users gain substantially greater competition and market access because the bill forces dominant platforms to share indexes and ad data, bans self‑preferencing, requires syndicated content/ad inventory access, and opens default choice screens—lowering barriers to entry and improving alternatives.
Consumers, state governments, and federal enforcers gain stronger oversight and enforcement tools because the bill preserves and expands remedies, authorizes FTC prior approval of large deals, enables state AG actions and defenses, requires reporting, and allows courts to strip ill‑gotten gains.
Everyday users gain improved privacy controls and choice because the bill limits disclosure of individually identifying search data, creates a neutral 'choice screen' standard, protects publisher consent, and requires deidentification and limits on re‑identification and onward transfers.
Covered platforms — and indirectly users and advertisers — will face large, widespread compliance and implementation costs (APIs, weekly/real‑time feeds, reporting, legal defenses, interface redesigns) that are likely to be passed on to consumers or advertisers.
Users' privacy could still be at risk because deidentified data, ZIP‑level removals, real‑time exports, and broad data‑sharing increase the likelihood of re‑identification or misuse if technical safeguards and enforcement are imperfect.
Businesses and markets will face regulatory uncertainty and litigation risk because the bill layers new mandates, delegates broad rulemaking, requires APA procedures, and gives the FTC substantial gatekeeper powers that can slow transactions and prompt legal challenges.
Based on analysis of 15 sections of legislative text.
Prohibits search‑platform self‑preferencing, requires data/index/ad licensing and choice screens, and creates FTC/DOJ/state civil enforcement with revenue‑based fines.
Official title: Restore competition in online search and digital advertising markets, to prevent exclusionary conduct by covered platforms, and for other purposes.
Introduced July 15, 2026 by Amy Klobuchar · Last progress July 15, 2026
Requires large U.S. search platforms to stop self-preferencing and exclusionary deals, give qualified competitors nondiscriminatory access to search indexes, ranking signals, and ad inventory, and provide choice screens so users can pick search engines. Establishes civil enforcement by the FTC, DOJ, and state attorneys general, civil penalties (including revenue-based fines), annual compliance certifications and training requirements, and timelines for phased implementation and a 10-year sunsetting of the law. Sets detailed definitions (covered platform, search index, AI search, qualified competitor), requires APA rulemaking and judicial review for agency guidance, creates data‑sharing and syndication obligations (APIs, marginal‑cost licensing, privacy safeguards), and bans a range of exclusive/preferential agreements and UI/UX practices that advantage a platform’s own search or ads products.