One way Nevada has looked to diversify its tourist-reliant economy is by looking to become a tech hub — a place where entrepreneurs and tech start-ups can come and build their business to be the next Apple or Google. So far, we’ve done a pretty good job of attracting those businesses, whether it’s the Tesla giga-factory in Northern Nevada or the SWITCH data center here in Southern Nevada. These industries can provide good, high-paying jobs and help to turn our schools and universities into innovation centers, turning out tomorrow’s visionaries. 

But efforts currently in Congress might derail all of that by putting tremendous limitations on technology companies. As someone who works with technology on a daily basis and as a small business owner, I can tell you that the passage of these federal bills — the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (HR 3816) and the Ending Platform Monopolies Act (HR 3825) — would be detrimental to my livelihood and to the small businesses that we serve on a daily basis. Heavy-handed regulation including forcing tech companies to break apart different parts of their business would make my job and the jobs of my employees much more difficult, at the same time it would place an undue burden on the small businesses we regularly work with. 

Many of the small businesses we work with rely solely on platforms like Google and Facebook to help them bring in new customers at much lower costs than traditional TV, billboard or radio marketing campaigns. It would make our job as a digital marketing agency much more difficult if we had to figure out different ways of advertising on platforms that were spin-offs from Google or Facebook — which would be reflected in an increase in what we charge our clients, as we would need to spend several hours jumping back and forth between different platforms to create and manage various campaigns. 

Most people agree that some regulation is needed and that we must be more careful in what we allow tech giants to manage and control in this country. However, the sponsors of these two federal bills are pretty clear: their intent is not just to curb but to dismantle big tech as we know it. However well-meaning the folks pushing this legislation may be, the unintended consequences of their actions if these bills pass as written would be devastating to business owners in states like Nevada that are also trying to attract new jobs and new businesses.

We work with clients of all different sizes and scopes and we don't apply the same strategy to all of our clients as they all have different needs, so why would Congress apply one standard regulation to companies that provide different services to consumers and businesses? The approach should be more strategic and laser-focused, not scatter-shot.

Nevada’s elected federal leaders should do their best to oppose these measures, at least in their current form. If we are going to have a chance at becoming a top high-tech center not only in the West, but in the entire country, we must stop or significantly amend this damaging legislation. If we do, we can have a real chance to do what has not been done in Nevada’s existence: move away from a tourist-based economy and create new jobs and new chances for our kids.

Suken Shah is the founder and CEO of Envision Marketing. Shah is also an adjunct professor for the Lee College of Business at UNLV, where he teaches digital marketing.