EXCLUSIVE: NetChoice Poll: Voters want regulators focused on prices, not breaking up technology companies
By a commanding 72 percent, American voters want federal antitrust enforcers to prioritize lower prices and consumer welfare over sweeping structural breakups of major U.S. technology companies, according to new polling released by NetChoice on Tuesday, a finding likely to sharpen the GOP’s messaging posture heading into the 2026 midterms.
The Echelon Insights survey of 2,880 likely voters, conducted April 3-9 with a margin of error of 3.2 points, reinforces what Republicans and the White House have argued for months: that the left’s war on American tech firms is colliding head-on with the national security imperative to win the AI race against China. Eighty percent of voters said America is stronger when the world’s leading tech companies are based in America, and nearly twice as many voters believe breaking up U.S. tech firms would hurt rather than help America in the AI competition with Beijing.
Breaking up large American companies ranked dead last among voter priorities for federal regulators. Voters instead want agencies focused on stopping consumer fraud and scams (49 percent) and cracking down on foreign-based bad actors (26 percent, rising to 37 percent among Republicans).
The affordability questions showed that this is still the number one issue.. Sixty percent named the economy and inflation as their top issue, with 63 percent pointing to groceries and 41 percent to utilities.
“This is more evidence that the Elizabeth Warren / Bernie Sanders position on destroying businesses is bad politics and bad policy,” a senior Republican campaign operative told the Reporter. The polling lands as Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez push a national moratorium on AI data center construction, a bill the Reporter editorial board has argued“would mean surrendering to China.” Retired Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I., Ariz.), a Reporter columnist, has made a parallel case that the AI buildout pencils out for communities when tech firms absorb the energy costs, and a bipartisan coalition of House lawmakers recently backed President Trump’s AI “Genesis Mission” as a counterweight to China’s state-directed AI push.
The poll also found 72 percent support for the traditional consumer welfare standard and 89 percent agreement that antitrust laws should apply equally across all companies. Voters rejected European-style Digital Markets Act rules by a 45-27 margin, with 56 percent opposing DMA-style regulations if they meant losing features like integrated maps or device security functions.