CBO Scores Ending Platform Monopolies Act

The Ending Platform Monopolies Act (H.R. 3825) would restrict some business activities for large online platforms. Specifically, the bill would prohibit large online platforms from using their platforms to sell goods and services from other lines of business that the platform owns and operates; requires business users to purchase products or services from the platform to obtain access to or preferred placement on the platform, or operating lines of business that create of interest. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates the following effects:

• Implementing H.R. 3825 would cost $54 million over the 2023-2027 period, assuming appropriation of the estimated amounts.
• Designating and updating the status of covered platforms would cost the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) about $8 million over the 2023-2027 period.
• In addition, CBO estimates that it would cost the agencies about $46 million to supervise and enforce violations of H.R. 3825, mainly for employee salaries and overhead. Using information from the agencies about current salaries and overhead costs for antitrust staff, CBO estimates each new employee would cost about $200,000 annually, on average. 
• Covered platforms found to violate the provisions of H.R. 3825 would be subject to civil monetary penalties, which are generally remitted to the Treasury and recorded as revenues.
• The collection of most civil fines would depend on the level of appropriations provided in future appropriation acts.
• The increases in revenues that are subject to those pay-as-you-go procedures would not be significant in each year and over the 2023-2032 period.
• There would be no increase in long-term deficits. H.R. 3825 would impose private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA).
• CBO estimates that the aggregate cost of the mandates would exceed the threshold for private-sector mandates established in UMRA ($184 million in 2022, adjusted annually for inflation).