The public actually supports antitrust laws---oppose monopolies

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.

While most Americans (65%) say there is at least some competition between companies within U.S. industries, just 23% say there is a "a lot" of competition. How much competition they think there is depends on the industry.

Some of the 10 industries asked about are viewed as highly competitive, particularly the restaurant industry (56% say it has a lot of competition) and the retail industry (47%). Others, such as the pharmaceutical industry (26%) and oil and gas industry (25%) are less likely to be seen as very competitive. Despite recent antitrust cases involving tech companies, many Americans say the tech industry is highly competitive (38%), though somewhat fewer say the same about the social media industry specifically (27%).