Dangerous disinformation, hate speech, and violent rhetoric is threatening the stability of our democracy and the safety of many communities around the country. Even in the face of that reality, some Democrats are supporting legislation that would strip online platforms of the ability to remove harmful content.

The Open App Markets Act prohibits online platforms from treating an app “unequally” compared to its own apps or the apps of business partners, tying the hands of platforms and preventing them from removing apps that promote hate speech and other dangerous content.

Even worse, the bill would allow hoax, hate, and disinformation apps to sue to regain their place in app stores.

During consideration of the bill last session, lawmakers raised serious concerns over the bill creating cybersecurity risks, hamstringing content moderation, and targeting specific tech companies.

Some Democrats have questioned the disastrous impact of OAMA, with Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) warning that “extremist outlets and disinformation sites could sue platforms for blocking them,” forcing platforms to provide soapboxes to outlets like Infowars and Parler.

Chamber of Progress’ own analysis demonstrates that owners of the top earning apps – and not independent app developers – would be the big winners of OAMA, earning an estimated $1.64 billion in additional annual revenue if app store legislation passed.

Given these impacts, why are some Democratic lawmakers still supporting the Open Apps Market Act?