Klobuchar on Her Antitrust Bill Targeting Big Tech: ‘It’s About a Check and Balance’

Thursday, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) discussed her proposal of sweeping reform to U.S. antitrust laws that is aimed at reducing monopoly power.

Klobuchar said on “CNN Newsroom” that her antitrust bill is “about a check and balance.” She argued the laws in place should be “as sophisticated” as tech companies like Facebook and Google so the new, small start-ups can take them on.

“You have a situation where, throughout history, new companies, small start-ups have changed the country, have made our country so strong, and right now, especially in the tech area, you have companies like Google that have 90% control over search engines,” Klobuchar emphasized. “And you have to allow a regeneration of our economy. What I’m proposing is make sure these agencies are able to take on trillion-dollar companies like Facebook and Google. They can’t do it with band-aids and duct tape. And then, make changes to the law. We’ve always done that over time. We can’t let sophisticated companies that, yes, are popular, that, yes, employ a lot of people. They will continue to do that, but we must have laws that are as sophisticated as the companies we’re dealing with. And that’s what this is about. It’s about a check and balance.”

In a tweet, Klobuchar echoed her sentiment, saying the United States has “a monopoly problem.”

Let’s be clear: we have a monopoly problem. But we can’t take on the biggest companies in the world with just Band-Aids and duct tape. We need legislation that will increase enforcement resources & tighten our antitrust laws–so I'm introducing a new bill that will do just that. https://t.co/9GFb9TTHaH

— Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) February 4, 2021

Follow Trent Baker on Twitter @MagnifiTrent