(Bloomberg) -- Congressional Democrats should press ahead and rein in tech giants as the companies seek to stall antitrust laws by arguing Americans care more about privacy than competition, advocacy groups said.

With U.S. midterm elections looming over the political schedule, almost two dozen groups pressed lawmakers to address both corporate dominance and privacy issues in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. 

“The truth is that people want true accountability, which requires action across the digital economy,” according to the letter released by Public Citizen and obtained by Bloomberg News. Other backers include Open Markets Institute, Public Knowledge and Center for Digital Democracy.

A package of bills limiting the power of tech giants is gaining momentum in Congress, though leaders are running out of time to pass major legislation before the midterms. That’s prompting industry groups to boost lobbying before lawmakers leave in August for the summer recess. 

One focal measure, the American Innovation and Choice Online Act, would prevent large tech companies from putting their own products ahead of those of competitors. 

Lawmakers hope to advance the bills in June, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Rhode Island Representative David Cicilline is working with House Democratic leaders to bring the legislation forward to floor votes. But Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, has told advocates he wants to be sure first that his party has the 60 votes needed to pass that chamber.

The Open App Markets Act, which would open up Apple and Google-owned app stores, has stalled in the House after an early surge of support in Congress. 

“Big Tech is attempting to deflect from the momentum behind legislation that will cut into their profitmaking foundation of surveillance and anticompetitive gatekeeping,” the groups said in the letter. 

In April, two interest groups representing companies such as Alphabet Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc. hosted separate lobbying days to urge Congress to oppose the antitrust legislation and instead promote a federal privacy law.

TechNet, one of the industry coalitions, argued during a virtual meeting with 41 lawmakers, including Schumer and Pelosi, that voters care more about privacy laws than regulating big business. NetChoice, another big tech advocacy group, criticized the competition bills during a meeting with more than a dozen conservative lawmakers. 

The Public Citizen letter said constituents do care about promoting competition. It cited polls by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and tech-funded group Taxpayers Protection Alliance that show a majority of people support antitrust legislation.

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