Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is urging Congress to examine breaking up large technology companies like Apple following reports that the tech giant may soon raise prices on phones and laptops due to a strained processing chip supply chain.
The congresswoman's comments come as companies across the industry face rising costs driven by global demand for semiconductors, particularly from artificial intelligence firms. Apple's outgoing CEO Tim Cook recently told the Wall Street Journal that price increases may be unavoidable as the company absorbs climbing expenses in its supply chain.
"We need to break up a lot of these companies that are far, far too big and we need to be instituting consumer protections for people," Ocasio-Cortez said during an interview with Fox News.
The New York Democrat has long advocated for greater government intervention in technology markets, arguing that large corporations have accumulated excessive influence over consumers and public policy.
What the Right Is Saying
Conservatives have generally resisted calls for aggressive antitrust action against technology companies, arguing that such measures could stifle innovation and harm economic growth.
Republican lawmakers have pointed to the CHIPS Act as evidence that Congress can address supply chain concerns through targeted industrial policy without resorting to breaking up successful American companies. Some have also noted that price increases in consumer electronics reflect broader market conditions rather than corporate malfeasance.
Critics on the right argue that government intervention to break up private companies raises constitutional questions and could set a precedent for political targeting of successful businesses based on their size rather than illegal conduct.
Free-market advocates contend that consumers retain choices in the technology marketplace and that competition naturally disciplines pricing, while questioning whether congressional action to regulate prices or market structure would ultimately benefit consumers.
What the Left Is Saying
Ocasio-Cortez framed her position as a matter of democratic accountability, arguing that tech companies have expanded beyond the scope of normal corporate operations. "The problem that we have is that these big companies think they are governments," she said. "They want to be governments. They want to have totally unchecked power."
Progressive lawmakers have increasingly called for revisiting antitrust frameworks to address concentration in the technology sector, arguing that existing regulations were not designed to address companies of this scale.
The congresswoman also pointed to broader concerns about how the AI race is affecting local communities, specifically citing energy consumption by data centers. She argued that Congress should consider additional measures beyond the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) Act, noting that the 2022 legislation predated the surge in AI development.
"The CHIPS Act was passed before we saw this huge development in AI, so the CHIPS Act was really passed before data centers were a thing," Ocasio-Cortez said. "We are subsidizing a lot of these pieces of these AI data centers."
What the Numbers Show
The CHIPS Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2022, included approximately $52.7 billion for semiconductor research, development, and production. The legislation provided $39 billion in domestic manufacturing incentives and $11.2 billion for research and workforce development programs aimed at modernizing the nation's technology infrastructure.
Apple's market position remains significant in consumer electronics. The company reported quarterly revenue exceeding $100 billion as recently as fiscal year 2024, with iPhone sales representing a substantial portion of that total.
The semiconductor industry has experienced notable supply constraints following pandemic-era disruptions and increased demand from AI development firms. Industry analysts have noted that chip manufacturers are prioritizing high-margin products for data centers over consumer devices, contributing to the conditions prompting potential price adjustments.
The Bottom Line
Ocasio-Cortez's comments reflect ongoing debate in Congress about how to address perceived excesses of large technology companies without stifling innovation or economic growth. The conversation has taken on new urgency as AI development drives up demand for processing chips, affecting pricing across consumer electronics.
The outcome of this debate could shape antitrust policy and consumer protection regulations for years to come. What remains unclear is whether legislative consensus exists for the kind of sweeping action Ocasio-Cortez is proposing.