A bill introduced to the Senate today could disrupt the dominance that Google LLC and Apple Inc. have in the app store domain.

The bipartisan “Open Apps Market Bill” aims to “promote competition and reduce gatekeeper power in the app economy, increase choice, improve quality, and reduce costs for consumers.” The bill was sponsored by Democratic Senators Richard Blumenthal and Amy Klobuchar, along with Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn.

“This legislation will tear down coercive anticompetitive walls in the app economy, giving consumers more choices and smaller startup tech companies a fighting chance,” Blumenthal said in a press release. “For years, Apple and Google have squashed competitors and kept consumers in the dark — pocketing hefty windfalls while acting as supposedly benevolent gatekeepers of this multibillion-dollar market.”

If the bill is passed, companies would no longer be able to punish developers for offering different prices for their apps in other app stores or on different payment systems. It would also ensure one app store can’t force developers to use just one store.

The bill will no doubt be greeted with glee from a number of app makers that have of late been in disputes with app store giants over their alleged anticompetitive behavior. One of those companies is Epic Games Ltd., which earlier this year filed a lawsuit against Apple over anticompetitive behavior.

“We have worked toward creating a fairer and more competitive app marketplace for both developers and consumers,” said The Coalition for App Fairness, whose list of clients includes Epic Games. “The bipartisan Open App Markets Act is a step towards holding big tech companies accountable for practices that stifle competition for developers in the U.S. and around the world.”

In a statement to Reuters, Apple said the App Store is “an unprecedented engine of economic growth and innovation, one that now supports more than 2.1 million jobs across all 50 states.” Apple has also said numerous times in the past that the App Store maintains quality while offering optimum security and privacy. It’s likely such statements won’t hold up for much longer, with consumers likely to embrace the convictions of the senators.

“As mobile technologies have become essential to our daily lives, it has become clear that a few gatekeepers control the app marketplace, wielding incredible power over which apps consumers can access,” said Klobuchar. “This raises serious competition concerns.”

Google has yet to comment on the matter.

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