Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., believes Congress should consider breaking up large tech companies like Apple, citing concerns over consumer protections and corporate influence. Her comments come amid news that Apple may soon raise its prices on phones and laptops due to a strained processing chip supply chain.

Concerns Over Corporate Power

Ocasio-Cortez stated that big companies like Apple think they are governments and want to have unchecked power. She advocated for a more government-led response, citing a distrust of corporate influence. The congresswoman also believes it’s time for lawmakers to address the energy strain of data centers, which are driving up costs for companies like Apple.

Apple’s outgoing CEO Tim Cook signaled that the company might soon have no choice but to pass some of its climbing costs off to consumers. Cook stated that price increases are unavoidable, and the company is trying to mitigate the huge increases being passed to them. However, the situation has become unsustainable.

Addressing the Energy Strain

Ocasio-Cortez believes it’s time for lawmakers to revisit ways to mitigate the costs of the AI-race that have climbed on a local level. She thinks Congress should consider something beyond the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) Act, which was passed before the huge development in AI. The CHIPS Act included $11.2 billion to modernize the country’s energy grid and $39 billion in domestic semiconductor production incentives but did not address the energy consumption strain caused by data centers.

Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.