Congress Eyes Antitrust Law Revamp

Congress is considering some of the most profound changes to antitrust law in decades, including measures that would make it easier to challenge mergers and acquisitions, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) has started subcommittee hearings on the state of antitrust regulation. Other changes that could potentially affect the food industry include making it easier to challenge allegedly anti-competitive behavior, new civil fines, and placing more enforcement responsibility with the Department of Justice, as opposed to the Federal Trade Commission.

The prospect of antitrust alteration is bringing out the possibility of rare bipartisan cooperation in Congress. Some prominent conservatives are also distrustful of markets with high concentration, although much of their ire is focused on social-media giants like Facebook and Twitter, whom they accuse of censoring conservative viewpoints.

“It’s not just tech, it’s cat food to caskets,” Klobuchar told the Journal.