The Senate Judiciary Committee on Jan. 20 voted 16-6 to advance the American Innovation and Choice Online Act out of committee towards a full vote on the Senate floor.

According to the website IPWatchdog, the legislation, if approved, would bolster antitrust efforts against major online platforms that are alleged to bend the competitive edge towards their own products and services.

Earlier this month, Real Estate Exchange, Inc., or REX, along with 40 tech innovators, wrote the Senate Judiciary Committee to urge members to prioritize the AICOA.

"As it relates to most consumers' biggest purchase, anti-competitive rules and self-preferencing are major barriers to the sort of real competition that would dramatically drive down the cost of homeownership,” REX co-founder and CEO Jack Ryan said in a company statement.

Ryan asserted that the National Association of Realtors implemented mandatory commission rules that are illegal and force American consumers to “pay two to three times more than their European counterparts.”

“And now, Zillow is cooperating with NAR to prevent consumers from seeing homes that do not require mandatory commissions,” he said in the release. “With the price of homes skyrocketing and the crisis in minority and first-time homeownership, Congress must stand up for consumers over big brokers and digital gatekeepers.”

The release added that REX late last year joined a coalition that urged U.S. Commerce Sec. Gina Raimondo to promote competition and consumer choice.