February 4, 2021
Washington, D.C. — Today, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), who leads the Senate subcommittee on antitrust law, introduced a bill that will, among other things, shift the burden of proof onto companies to show that proposed mergers are not anticompetitive. The bill will also increase resources for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ), to enforce federal antitrust law.
The following statement can be attributed to David Dinielli, senior advisor at Omidyar Network:
“We are encouraged by the first steps taken today by Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) to rebalance the tech marketplace in a way that works for everyone. The unbridled growth of the tech sector, along with its anti-competitive practices, have made it clear that US anti-trust laws are woefully out of date and ill-equipped to deal with the modern challenges to free and fair competition. We applaud Sen. Klobuchar for introducing the Competition and Antitrust Law Enforcement Reform Act of 2021.
At this moment, critical areas of the technology industry, and the internet remained unregulated and unchecked. Consumers, innovators, the economy, and our democracy have already paid too high a price. Tech giants like Google and Facebook have gained tremendous control over online search and information harvesting, while product manufacturers like Apple unfairly restrict access to devices.
We have been encouraged by and support recent antitrust actions brought by more than 40 state attorneys general, the US Department of Justice, and the Federal Trade Commission against some of the largest tech monopolies. We now call on Congress to join Sen. Klobuchar and the bill’s co-sponsors, Senators Blumenthal, Booker, Markey, and Schatz, to ensure that enforcers and regulators have all the tools necessary to match this moment in our history.”
