Vance Backs Khan’s Approach on Big-Tech Mergers, Acquisitions

(Bloomberg) — Republican Vice Presidential nominee and Ohio Senator JD Vance said some big tech mergers could lead to censorship, signaling a potentially aggressive stand from a second Trump administration on antitrust regulation.

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“When you have companies like Facebook and Google censoring American citizens, making it harder for Americans to speak in their own political process, that is a major problem,” Vance said Thursday on CNBC. “And yeah, I do think that there should be an antitrust solution to it.”

When pressed, Vance made a distinction between big companies and small ones, saying not all mergers are bad. But he voiced support for FTC chair Lina Khan’s approach to breaking up big tech monopolies.

“I think our antitrust policy has been pretty clear on this,” he said. “Sometimes in the technology space, in the private equity space, you need to let some companies buy other companies. That’s how investors get capital returns; that’s how you promote capital formation.” He added that he “doesn’t care about a medium-sized business buying a small-sized business” but agrees with Khan on big tech.

Such a position would be a departure from traditional Wall Street Republicans and could cut into former President Donald Trump’s support. To be sure, Trump and Vance have received the backing of several business moguls such Point Bridge Capital founder Hal Lambert and hedge-fund billionaire Bill Ackman.

In Congress, Vance has supported stricter filing rules for mergers and legislation that eliminates tax breaks for mega mergers. He has also raised concerns about foreign companies seeking to take over US manufacturers, such as Nippon Steel Corp.’s bid to buy United States Steel Corp., which Biden is poised to block. Harris and Trump have also said they oppose the move. Vance has also criticized Meta Platforms Inc.’s purchase of Instagram and WhatsApp.

Vice presidents historically haven’t had a heavy role in shaping antitrust policy. The Biden White House has prioritized antitrust regulation, creating the Competition Council, in which officials meet regularly. That approach could continue if Trump and Vance were elected.

Vance, who defended his running mate’s widely criticized performance in Tuesday’s debate, also slammed companies like Apple Inc., which he accused of benefitting from Chinese “slave labor.”

“Every competitor wants access to American markets. If you want access to American markets, you can’t use Chinese slave labor to produce your products. You’ve got to be able to use American workers,” he said. “Do I think Apple is an evil company? No. Do I think that sometimes they benefit from Chinese slave labor? Yeah, and that’s pretty sick.”

The bipartisan Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which went into effect in 2022, aimed to strengthen the prohibition against the importation of goods made with forced labor.