Over the weekend, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) renewed her push for stronger antitrust action against Big Tech, arguing companies like Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) have become too powerful as the AI-driven chip shortage threatens to raise consumer prices.
AOC Renews Call To Break Up Apple, Other Tech Giants
In a conversation with Fox News, AOC said Congress should consider breaking up technology giants such as Apple, arguing they wield excessive power.
At the same time, consumers bear the rising costs of the artificial intelligence boom.
“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.
She also criticized the growing influence of major technology firms, adding, “The problem that we have is that these big companies think they are governments. They want to be governments. They want to have totally unchecked power.”
Apple Warns AI Chip Shortages Could Push Prices Higher
Ocasio-Cortez’s comments come as Apple has warned that ongoing pressure on the semiconductor supply chain could force it to raise prices for products including iPhones and Macs.
Apple CEO Tim Cook earlier said the company has tried to absorb higher component costs but may no longer be able to do so.
“Unfortunately, price increases are unavoidable,” Cook said.
Last week, Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) also raised Xbox prices, saying memory costs driven higher by the AI boom are making gaming hardware significantly more expensive.
Lawmaker Says AI Boom Requires New Congressional Action
Beyond antitrust concerns, Ocasio-Cortez argued that Congress should revisit policies enacted before the AI boom dramatically increased demand for chips, electricity and data centers.
She said the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act was designed before the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure and did not account for the energy demands of massive data centers.
Price Action: Apple shares closed Friday up 3.14% at $283.78 and declined 0.45% to $282.50 in after-hours trading, according to Benzinga Pro.
Benzinga Edge Stock Rankings place Apple in the 98th percentile for Quality, indicating robust long-term price performance even as the stock has struggled over shorter time frames.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Photo Courtesy: Maxim Elramsisy on Shutterstock.com
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