Our online lives are increasingly dominated by a small number of large technology companies and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is feeling the pressure to put these companies under the microscope. Traps like Google's Nest Secure microphone and Facebook's … well, everything … just added to the urgency. The agency announced the creation of a working group to look at how Google and Facebook do business, including scrutinizing mergers.

The FTC team will consist of 17 members, led by Patricia Galvan. It builds on the success of the 2002 Merger Litigation Task Force, which evaluated mergers in retail, hospital and food services. Some groups that are pushing the FTC to take a closer look at technology monopolies have hope, but others worry that the new task force is nothing more than a reshuffle. lawyers.

The press release of the agency does not include any specific purpose and does not mention any company by name. Google, Facebook and Amazon are probably among the priorities of the team, which has the power to review future mergers as well as those already completed. T-Mobile and Sprint could also face more questions as they seek to merge.