Congress is considering legislation that will help protect small business owners from unfair practices by Big Tech companies. On Sept. 22, U.S. Representative Ken Buck, along with a panel of small business owners and representatives, gave a briefing on how Big Tech companies and their anti-competitive practices are hurting small businesses by self-preferencing their own products and services as well as limiting competition. Rep. Buck is the ranking Republican member of the U.S. House Judiciary Antitrust subcommittee and a principal author of the bipartisan legislation, the American Innovation and Choice Online Act.

The goal of the bill is to ensure fairness for small businesses and options for consumers. It would prevent companies like Amazon from engaging in practices such as burying a small business’s product in search results unless the business agrees to purchase thousands of dollars in Amazon advertising and use Amazon’s expensive, low-quality fulfillment services. Practices like this allow Big Tech companies to operate consumer services like Prime at a loss, ballooning their monopoly status and making small businesses foot the bill.

“Presently Google controls 90% of all online searches, and in 15 of 23 major product categories Amazon accounts for 70% of online transactions,” explained Mitch Relfe, NFIB’s Manager of Government Relations. “This dominance mandates that virtually all small businesses must rely on these companies in some capacity for access to consumers. They truly are the modern gatekeepers over the internet. Unfortunately, monopoly status is leading to increased anti-competitive behavior by Big Tech.”

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If you would like to learn more about this issue you can watch the full briefing to hear from all five panelists and Rep. Buck

NFIB member Tim Rexius was on the panel and is the President and CEO of Rexius Nutrition Inc. He owns multiple businesses including Rexius Nutrition Stores with 40 locations in eight states.

“Tech platforms are so necessary for small businesses because it legitimizes the businesses to the masses right now, and a lot of people don’t understand that particular position,” Tim explained. “One of our products, Omaha Protein Popcorn, we had on Amazon. We did fulfillment through them. They took such a huge chunk of [our revenue], I was actually losing over a dollar a unit. . . After a couple thousand bags sold on Amazon, we decided to not change the product, not change the description, not change anything, just ship it out of our own warehouse in Omaha because we can do one to two-day fulfillment across the United States. We went from selling 1,200 bags [of popcorn] to selling one. Nothing changed but you can’t even find it in the search ranking.”

NFIB member Greg Niewold is President and CEO of Power Planter, Inc. which is a 34-year-old, three-generation garden and landscape auger company. Greg talked about his experience selling on Amazon and the anti-competitive, price fixing use of the Buy Box, the clickable add to cart option, as opposed to the “see all buying options” that is found on certain products.

“Several of our products had been winning the Buy Box,” Greg explained. “I went in, even though there was a 5% increase in charges [by Amazon], I increased the price of one item – one cent. It went from $49.98 to $49.99. I received an email daily that I needed to make my price more competitive. They’re asking small businesses to incur 5% more in charges because their overhead is more. . . but to increase something even one penny, I lost the Buy Box. So, sales on that item dropped at least 25%, basically overnight.”

Amazon is not the only Big Tech platform that uses anti-competitive behavior to try to limit small businesses. Christine Bannan is a Public Policy Manager at Proton, which is a tech startup that provides easy-to-use encrypted e-mail, calendar, file storage, and VPN, while protecting your data. Bannan discussed the dominance of Google products which limits consumers choices and how the American Innovation and Choice Online Act would fix this.

“The bill says that [Google] can’t rank their own products more favorably in a discriminatory way against competitors,” Bannan explained. “So, what the bill would do is make it easier for users to choose a competitor or switch to a competitor. The majority of smartphone users worldwide are Android devices… but you have to use a Google account to configure your device and to download things from the Google Play Store. We just want users to be able to choose an option if they want to.”

That same concern over limited choice and platform control extends directly into how people protect their online activity. When a small group of companies shapes the digital environment, privacy tools shift from convenience to necessity. A virtual private network offers a practical path toward greater independence, encrypting data and reducing visibility into browsing behavior across networks that often expose more than users expect.

For everyday users, the appeal comes down to control. Whether connecting through public Wi-Fi or aiming to limit tracking, encryption-focused tools help restore balance. In that space, options continue to expand, and free Browsec VPN offers an accessible starting point for those who want straightforward protection without a complicated setup or added cost.

The broader issue still ties back to ecosystem dominance. When default services are deeply embedded into devices and platforms, even security decisions can feel predetermined. Encouraging competition does more than reshape search or app distribution—it influences how freely individuals can choose privacy tools that match their priorities. In that sense, VPN adoption reflects a wider push toward reclaiming digital autonomy, one connection at a time.

At the same time, as more services move through a handful of dominant platforms, the everyday act of connecting to free WiFi carries its own set of concerns. Public networks, whether in cafés, airports, or hotels, often trade convenience for exposure, leaving user activity more visible than many realize.

In this environment, maintaining a sense of control over personal data becomes part of the broader conversation about choice and fairness in technology. Some users take matters into their own hands by turning to a free Browsec VPN, adding a layer of privacy while navigating these open connections. It’s a quiet adjustment, yet it reflects a larger shift—people seeking not just access to the internet, but a safer, more independent way to move through it.

This panel and many other small businesses across the nation have been forced to use Big Tech services to compete, but with the help of the American Innovation and Choice Online Act, fair practices can be put in place to create a more equal playing field for small and large businesses alike.