Potential Biden AG pick Klobuchar: Google breakup should be 'on the table'
The Justice Department filed an antitrust suit against Google on Oct. 20
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., a rumored candidate for the attorney general position in President-elect Joe Biden’s Cabinet, argued at an event Thursday that the possibility of breaking up major tech firms such as Alphabet’s Google should be “on the table.”
Klobuchar spoke out in support of the Justice Department’s antitrust case against Google during her virtual keynote address at the American Bar Association’s Fall Forum on Thursday. The Democratic senator noted the Justice Department’s case suggested the potential enforcement of structural changes at Google.
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“In a serious monopolization action like this one, it’s important that a breakup remedy be on the table,” Klobuchar said at the event, according to CNBC.
The Justice Department filed an antitrust suit against Google on Oct. 20, arguing the tech giant’s business practices were stifling competition from other search engines. In their lawsuit, antitrust officials asked the court to consider structural changes to the company “as needed to remedy any anticompetitive harm.”
Klobuchar’s appointment to the role of attorney general could have major implications for Google and other tech companies facing antitrust scrutiny, including Amazon, Facebook, and Apple. The companies have faced bipartisan criticism over their business practices in recent years.
As ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights, the senator repeatedly called for increased enforcement of antitrust rules to protect competition during the coronavirus pandemic.
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Klobuchar isn’t the only rumored Cabinet candidate who has taken a critical eye toward the tech industry. Leading progressives have floated Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s name as a potential choice for treasury secretary.
Warren unveiled a plan to take antitrust action against leading tech firms, including Amazon, Facebook, and Google, during her run for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination. Her plan called for the unwinding of tech mergers, such as Facebook’s acquisition of Instagram, on the basis that they are anti-competitive.
Biden made his first Cabinet pick this week, tapping longtime aide Ronald Klain to serve as White House chief of staff. The president-elect’s transition team is expected to unveil more appointments in the coming days.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.