Democratic Sens Propose Toughening Antitrust Laws

Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), joined by other Democrats concerned about consolidation, has introduced a bill that would change antitrust laws to shift the burden of proof on merging parties to prove that their merger does not harm competition. The Consolidation Prevention and Competition Promotion Act of 2017 would clarify that "mergers that increase consumer prices, lower the quality of goods, exclude competitors, undermine innovation, or allow a company to unfairly lower the prices it pays can be illegal." Those are all characterizations that have been leveled at merging media companies in arguments against their deals. The bill would also "add the term 'monopsony' to the Clayton Antitrust Act so single buyers controlling the market are also illegal" and would "create an Office of the Competition Advocate to help consumers with complaints, encourage antitrust investigations, and analyze and publish reports on merger activity."

Joining Sen Klobuchar were a Who's Who of media merger critics, including Sens Al Franken (D-MN), Ed Markey (D-MA), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT).