Senator Klobuchar Introduces Legislation to Crack Down on Monopolies that Violate Antitrust Law

Senate Antitrust Subcommittee Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) introduced new legislation to crack down on monopolies that violate antitrust law. The Monopolization Deterrence Act would give the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission the authority to seek civil penalties for monopolization offenses under the antitrust laws, a power they currently do not have. The bill was introduced with Sen Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and co-sponsored by Sens Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Ed Markey (D-MA). Specifically, the Monopolization Deterrence Act would:

• Enable the Department of Justice and the FTC to seek civil monetary penalties, in addition to existing remedies, for violations of section 2 of the Sherman Act;
• Deter future violations by providing for penalties of up to 15 percent of the violator’s total US revenues or 30 percent of the violator’s US revenues in the affected markets; and
• Ensure that the two agencies work together to create guidelines for how they would exercise their penalty authority considering a number of relevant factors.

The legislation has the support of leading national consumer welfare and antitrust policy organizations Consumer Reports, Public Knowledge, and American Antitrust Institute.