A senator who could become Biden’s attorney general said breaking up Google should be ‘on the table’

• Sen. Amy Klobuchar on Thursday praised the Justice Department for leaving open the option of breaking up Google as part of its antitrust lawsuit against the Big Tech firm.
• “In a serious monopolization action like this one, it’s important that a breakup remedy be on the table,” Klobuchar said.
• Klobuchar is tipped to be a candidate for attorney general once President-elect Biden takes power in January — which could spell trouble for Google.
• Others close to Biden, including campaign staffer Bill Russo, have criticized Big Tech firms in recent weeks, setting the stage for a possible regulation battle in the coming years.
• Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

A senator tipped as one of President-elect Joe Biden’s potential picks for attorney general has made comments about breaking up Google that might worry the tech giant.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, of Minnesota, gave a keynote speech at the American Bar Association’s Fall Forum on Thursday in which she talked about the antitrust lawsuit against Google that the Justice Department (DOJ) filed in October.

Klobuchar praised the DOJ for including the potential breakup of Google in its suit. “In a serious monopolization action like this one, it’s important that a breakup remedy be on the table,” she said, per CNBC.

Klobuchar also said Congress should take an active role in enforcing antitrust rulings — rather than simply relying on the courts.

“If anyone’s waiting on the courts to solve our monopoly problem, that’s going to take a really long time … We need to update our laws. We really don’t have another choice besides increasing enforcement,” she said.

This could be worrying for Google — CNBC reported Tuesday that Klobuchar was being considered for positions in Biden’s cabinet, including attorney general.

Although Biden will likely roll back many of President Donald Trump’s initiatives after his inauguration in January, it’s possible that his administration will pursue the Google case even more aggressively, experts told Business Insider’s Hugh Langley.

Read more: 5 experts break down what Biden’s win could mean for the advertising and tech industries, from a privacy czar to more antitrust action

Google isn’t the only Big Tech company that has to worry about what the Biden administration might do in the White House.

Top Biden campaign staffer Bill Russo signalled this week that Facebook could be a target for regulation over misinformation and harmful content on its platform.

During his election campaign, Biden also said he wanted to repeal Section 230 — the part of US law that protects tech companies from liability for the content posted to their platforms.