In 2019, as Chairman of the U.S. House Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law (ACAL) Subcommittee, Congressman Cicilline began a bipartisan investigation into digital markets to determine if competition problems exist in the digital economy and whether existing law is sufficient to address such problems. The Subcommittee, under the direction of Cicilline and Ranking Member Ken Buck, reviewed millions of pages of information from four dominant firms in the digital economy – Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google, conducted hundreds of interviews with market participants, and brought the CEOs of each gatekeeper platform before the Subcommittee to testify in July of 2020.

This investigation culminated in the publication of a 450-page report that clearly documents how these four platforms, worth nearly $5 trillion combined, use their market dominance to favor their own products and services and engage in other anti-competitive behaviors that disadvantage small businesses, harm consumer privacy, thwart innovation and consumer choice, and undermine a fair marketplace and the vitality of our overall economy.

Based on the findings of this investigation, Congressman Cicilline led his colleagues on the Antitrust Subcommittee in introducing a bipartisan package of legislation that will update our antitrust laws for the 21st century, rein in the largest online platforms, and revitalize competition in our digital markets. David’s legislation, the "American Choice and Innovation Online Act," was passed by the Judiciary Committee in June 2021, and its Senate companion was passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee in January 2022.