Plan’s unpopular - voters oppose monopolies and reduced competition from IP protections

[Taylor, YouGov, “Most Americans oppose monopolies and support antitrust laws”, ]

This year, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has stepped up its enforcement of antitrust laws, bringing major lawsuits against companies including Amazon, Google, and Meta. Recent YouGov polling finds that most Americans support antitrust laws and believe that penalties for violating them should be increased. The vast majority hold negative views of monopolies, and while most believe there is at least some competition within U.S. industries, more than one-third believe it is not enough. Americans are far more likely to believe stricter antitrust enforcement would help the U.S. economy rather than hurt it — and the same holds for views on the effects of stricter enforcement on consumers, workers, and small businesses. Large companies, on the other hand, are more likely to be thought to be hurt by such laws rather than helped.

When asked broadly, most Americans (67%) say it is a bad thing for a single company to dominate a market; just 6% say it is good, 16% say neutral, and 11% aren't sure.

Small companies are generally viewed by Americans as superior to big companies when it comes to their ethics, their treatment of employees, the quality of their products, and their impact on the environment. When it comes to consumer prices, however, Americans say by a margin of two to one big companies charge less than small companies.