Today, a group of leaders representing eight conservative organizations, led by American Principles Project (APP), sent a letter to U.S. senators urging them to support the Open App Markets Act, legislation aiming to combat anti-competitive behavior in the smartphone app market.

This is believed to be the largest conservative coalition to date pushing for antitrust action against Big Tech.

The letter argues that the current status quo in the app market, which is dominated by Apple and Google, is both bad for consumers generally as well as conservatives specifically:

It is because of the orchestrated app store duopoly that Parler, the free-speech social media upstart previously valued at over $1 billion, could be removed with immediate effect from Apple and Android app stores as a way to punish conservatives seeking an alternative to fellow Big Tech giants Facebook and Twitter.

The bottom line is that the current system is rigged. Some app developers get special treatment from the monopolists, others are forced to pay a 30 percent tax, while others have a massive barrier to entry. Meanwhile, consumers are left holding the bag to pay higher prices with less choice. It’s time to bring competition back into the market. The Open App Markets Act will help make it happen.

You can read the full letter here.

To schedule an engagement with American Principles Project, contact Paul Dupont at (o) 202-503-2010 or pdupont@americanprinciplesproject.org.