Today, Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), incoming chair of the Senate Judiciary’s Antitrust Subcommittee, introduced the “Competition and Antitrust Law Enforcement Reform Act” to make it easier for the government to stop anticompetitive mergers and conduct. The bill increases funding for antitrust enforcement and improves upon many other ideas from previous legislation led by Sen. Klobuchar that Public Knowledge also supported. Public Knowledge commends Sen. Klobuchar for strengthening antitrust enforcement, a key component of opening up markets for competition and putting consumers in the driver’s seat when it comes to Big Tech.
The following can be attributed to Charlotte Slaiman, Competition Policy Director at Public Knowledge:
“This bill will turbocharge antitrust enforcement. Much-needed updates to the Clayton Act’s merger review and exclusionary conduct provisions, along with a new office at the Federal Trade Commission and more funds for antitrust enforcers, will help level the playing field for enforcers to better protect consumers from anticompetitive abuses.
“This bill does important work to beef up antitrust enforcement, which is one key tool for improving competition. As a next step, we need new laws and rules targeted at particular industries that are facing a lack of competition. We look forward to continuing to work with Sen. Klobuchar on this and other competition policy proposals.”
Members of the media may contact Communications Director Shiva Stella with inquiries, interview requests, or to join the Public Knowledge press list at shiva@publicknowledge.org or 405-249-9435.