It is the first move in the campaign that Klobuchar (pictured), who is now chair of the Senate Judiciary subcommittee on anti-trust, is running against the hyperscalers.
She said in a television interview that she doesn’t want to punish success.
“When we talk about structural remedies and breaking things up, those companies would then be unleashed to do even more,” she told CNBC. “You can’t take on trillion-dollar companies with Band-Aids and duct tape.”
Klobuchar, who presided over last month’s inauguration ceremony that saw Joe Biden and Kamala Harris sworn into office, has long called for strong measures against powerful tech firms.
Her law, if passed, will be called the Competition and Antitrust Law Enforcement Reform Act.
Her campaign will intensify in April with the publication of a new book, Antitrust: taking on monopoly power from the gilded age to the digital age (Knopf/Penguin Random House).
“Corporate consolidation, monopoly power, dark money, and rising levels of income inequality are problems that require a newly invigorated pro-competition agenda,” said Klobuchar. “My book traces the history of America’s anti-trust movement, explaining why it mattered when the Sherman Antitrust Act was passed by Congress in 1890 and why it matters even more today. It shows how new laws and more effective enforcement are essential to protecting American consumers and free enterprise.”
According to reports, Klobuchar’s bill will make it harder for powerful companies to merge, will increase the budgets of the Department of Justice (DoJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and will allow them to seek civil penalties for violations of monopoly law, and will make merged companies update agencies on the outcomes of their deals.
