Florida Congresswoman Leads Effort to Challenge Big Tech Control Over App Stores

A bipartisan bill is making its way through Congress that could have major ramifications for how Big Tech operates in the United States.

The legislation is called the App Store Freedom Act, and was introduced in the House of Representatives back in May by Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla. In a press conference hosted by Cammack on Friday, the Florida congresswoman explained the reasoning behind her bill, which is cosponsored by three Democrats and two Republicans.

“Imagine for a moment if parents got together and said, ‘We’re going to build a marketplace that is built of apps that kids will be safe on,” Cammack said.

According to Cammack’s office the bill would create more consumer choice in the app store marketplace by “requiring large app store operators (100M+ U.S. users) to allow users to set third-party apps or app stores as default; install apps or app stores outside of the dominant platform; and remove or hide pre-installed apps.” 

The legislation also “prohibits app stores from forcing developers to use the company’s in-app payment system, imposing pricing parity requirements, and punishing developers for distributing their apps elsewhere.”

Addressing the criticism that if the bill became law it could lead to people’s devices being less safe, Cammack noted that Apple already hosts TikTok and Temu.

“They can spare me on the argument that they are vetting these apps and protecting consumers when they have Chinese developed and maintained VPNs on their platform,” Cammack said, 

The Daily Signal asked Cammack why she had decided to take on Big Tech given the significant resources they had already deployed against her legislation. 

“Many people are positive reinforcement people. I’m a negative reinforcement person, and so when someone says it can’t be done, I am always up for that fight,” the Florida congresswoman told The Daily Signal.

“I grew up in an era of both analog and digital, so I understand both sides, but I have watched the evolution of the marketplace grow and can speak to the technology in ways that some of my counterparts perhaps can’t,” Cammack continued.

Cammack’s legislation is earning support from advocates seeking to protect kids from the harms of technology, including Terry Schilling, the president of the American Principles Project, Clare Morell, a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, and Aiden Buzzetti, the president of the Bull Moose Project.

The attempt at reform of Big Tech practices comes as Congress and individual states have vigorously debated legislation related to protecting children online and proactively defending Americans from potential harms of advances in artificial intelligence. A recent attempt to punish individual states that have passed laws regulating AI was defeated in the One Big Beautiful Bill.

Cammack explained the challenges of regulating such a complicated topic like app technology when some members struggled to operate these systems themselves.

“The other day, a new app was launched called Vote Right, it is the Republican response to Dome Watch. And as it was being pitched, I had no less than six members ask me to help them download it,” Cammack explained.

Cammack said that there was currently a substantial lobbying effort against her bill. 

“Apple could rival Tiktok in the amount of lobbyists that they employ, truthfully, because they are emailing, knocking on our door, banging on our door,” the Florida congresswoman said. 

“And I know from my conversations with leadership, they are making the rounds through the leadership offices as often as they possibly can,” Cammack added.

The Daily Signal has reached out to Google and Apple for comment.

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