Bernie Sanders says he'd 'absolutely' try to break up Facebook, Google, Amazon
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Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said Tuesday that he would "absolutely" look to break up Big Tech giants like Facebook, Amazon and Google on antitrust grounds.
Speaking at a Washington Post event, Sanders specifically singled out Facebook as having "incredible power over the economy, over the political life of this country in a very dangerous sense."
He also stated that Amazon is "moving very rapidly to be a monopoly."
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Sanders' comments come at a perilous time for Silicon Valley, which is facing increased scrutiny from lawmakers on Capitol Hill and the prospect of being broken up or subjected to stringent new regulations.
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"And it’s not just Amazon," Sanders said, according to Politico. "I think we need vigorous antitrust legislation in this country because you are seeing – you name the area, whether it's pharmaceuticals, whether it is Wall Street, whether it is high tech – fewer and fewer gigantic corporations owning those sectors.” He would appoint an attorney general "who would break up these huge corporations,” he added.
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., pauses while speaking during a forum on Friday, June 21, 2019, in Miami. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.,who is battling Sanders and almost two dozen other candidates for the Democratic 2020 presidential nomination, called for the breakup of Amazon, Google and Facebook back in March.
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