At SXSW, Sen. Amy Klobuchar pitches new tax for Big Tech profits on consumer data

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) meets with supporters at a residence in Nashua, N.H., Feb. 24, 2019. (Elizabeth Frantz/The New York Times) Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) meets with supporters at a residence in Nashua, N.H., Feb. 24, 2019. (Elizabeth Frantz/The New York Times) Photo: ELIZABETH FRANTZ, STR / NYT Photo: ELIZABETH FRANTZ, STR / NYT Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close At SXSW, Sen. Amy Klobuchar pitches new tax for Big Tech profits on consumer data 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Presidential hopeful U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar praised Austin as an industry leader in innovation, but proposed antitrust legislation and tax increases as checks on Big Tech’s power in a Saturday talk at the South by Southwest festival.

“This is a city that has taken on the challenges, that has walked right into the digital world and developed new businesses and new ideas,” said Klobuchar, D-Minnesota. “It is on the cutting edge when it comes to culture and music, and understands that America isn’t just on the coast — and America, just like Minnesota, is in the heartland of this country and in the heart of Texas.”

But Klobuchar said many of the companies bringing those new ideas, including some in Austin, have taken advantage of consumers. On Saturday, she floated the idea of taxing companies that profit on data they collect from the people who use their products.

"Maybe there's a way we can actually tax them when they use us, and we're their commodity and we're not getting anything out of it,” Klobuchar said.

In the crowded race for the Democratic nomination in 2020, the Minnesota Senator seeks to establish herself as a champion of consumer protection. During the hour-long talk, Klobuchar criticized Big Tech for dropping the ball on consumer trust, privacy and national security.

“The No. 1 priority is privacy,” Klobuchar said. “For so long, these companies have said, 'We've got your backs,' but that's just not true."

Klobuchar also called for antitrust legislation to check the power of big corporations like Amazon and its subsidiary, Austin-based Whole Foods.

"You want competition, you want innovation, you just don't want one company controlling everything under them,” Klobuchar said.

Asked by journalist Kara Swisher if she trusts big technology companies, Klobuchar didn’t hesitate to say “no.”

"The biggest goal of government in my life … is protecting people's safety," Klobuchar said. "Well right now, they did not protect our safety - not the safety of our privacy, not the safety of our national security.”

While most of the conversation hosted by The Texas Tribune focused on Klobuchar’s views on technology and consumer protection, Swisher briefly touched on the Senator’s reputation as a tough boss.

“I know that I can be tough on people - sometimes too tough - that I can push them too hard, that I can always do better, but I also know that we have incredible people that have worked with me,” Klobuchar said. “I have high expectations for myself, I have high expectations for the people that work with me and most importantly, I have high expectations for our country.”

Before time was up, Swisher asked Klobuchar’s opinion on various hot-button issues in the news.

Klobuchar called the 47-month prison sentence given to President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, for his role in a multimillion-dollar bank fraud scheme “appalling.”

A jury found Manafort guilty of evading $6 million in taxes, and of deceiving banks to obtain millions in loans. Evidence of the fraud surfaced during an investigation into his alleged collusion with the Russian government in 2016. The crimes would normally lead to a sentence of 19 to 24 years in prison under federal guidelines.

“I had a job as chief prosecutor for biggest county in my state ... one of things I realized was ... crimes in boardrooms were not treated as seriously as crimes on the street corner.”

Klobuchar called on the federal government to follow Austin’s lead in upgrading national cybersecurity when it comes to Big Tech.

“Our government has to learn a little bit of the ‘Austin way’ here,” Klobuchar said.