California Bill Bans Platform Self‑Preferencing

California state representative Scott Wiener introduced the so‑called BASED Act to bar digital platforms with >$1 trillion market cap and 100M+ U.S. monthly users from favoring their own products, using nonpublic third‑party data to compete, or blocking consumer portability. The proposal also enshrines portability and voluntary data‑sharing rights and has public backing from Y Combinator, privacy firms (DuckDuckGo, Proton), and advocacy groups. — If passed, a pioneering state law could force major platforms to change ranking, data use, and integration practices and would set a model other states or the federal government could copy, shifting the balance between platform incumbents and startups.