The Tech Oversight Project recently released new polling results that show Americans support bold enforcement actions to crackdown on corporations. As we’ve argued before, a potential Kamala Harris Administration must heed this national mood and take on an enthusiastic corporate crackdown.
The Tech Oversight Project survey found that Democratic voters strongly support the bold enforcement actions of FTC Chair Lina Khan and the Department of Justice Antitrust Division’s Jonathan Kanter: “Notably, both enforcers received intense levels of support from respondents – with 80% and 77% of respondents saying they strongly supported Kanter and Khan’s records, respectively.”
The survey also found that…
- 89% of Democratic voters “Think lobbyists and executives for big corporations have too much influence over government officials.”
- 63%: “Agree more that Washington has not done enough to rein in big monopolies” rather than believing that anti-monopoly policies “…slow innovation and reduce consumer choice.”
- 27%: “Not sure”
- 80%: “Think the government should be doing more to take on corporate monopoly power.”
- 77%: “Agree more with those who say Big Tech companies use their monopoly power to hurt consumers and destroy small businesses, and should be held accountable.”
- 77% strongly support the statement “As part of its agenda to protect families and lower costs, the Biden-Harris administration’s Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan has blocked predatory hospital mergers that could have seen health care costs soar, proposed a ban on hidden junk fees, and taken on powerful tech companies that have violated children’s online privacy.”
- 80% strongly support: “The Biden-Harris administration’s Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter has also worked to hold price gougers and monopolists accountable. As part of that agenda, the Department of Justice has taken on property management companies that collude to raise rents on families, blocked predatory airline mergers that could have raised fares and diminished service, and sued powerful companies like Ticketmaster and Google that have engaged in monopolistic practices.”
Undoubtedly, Democratic voters are in favor of Khan and Kanter bringing forward bold enforcement actions against large corporations. This popularity is unsurprising – a majority of Americans (85% of them, in fact) have correctly identified that corporations are a main instigator behind high prices, and Khan and Kanter’s enforcement actions seek to actually rein in these companies.
These new findings are in line with our previous two polling data round ups. Both of them further corroborate these findings, with figures such as…
- “As of 2023, 69 percent of Americans, regardless of party designation, support stronger antitrust laws.”
- 76% of Americans say that the executives of Silicon Valley Bank should be prosecuted if they personally profited off of the collapse, with 13% having no opinion
- 63% of voters said they supported “starting a congressional committee to hold hearings on and investigate price gouging and overcharging by corporations”.
- “Prosecuting price gougers” similarly had high levels of support, with the course of action being approved by 61% of voters.
To read more about the popular support for a corporate crackdown, check out our previous polling round-up blogs.