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Alphabet Inc. AMZN shares of GOOGL and Amazon.com Inc. opened down Monday, Amazon down 3% and Google down more than 6%. Both companies are facing speculation of an antitrust investigation. The US Department of Justice would attack Google, while the Federal Trade Commission would attack Amazon and Facebook. Amazon closed the day down about 5%, while Alphabet closed around -6.5%.
Meanwhile, Facebook FB arrives at the end of the Cambridge Analytica scandal and will pay between $ 3 and $ 5 billion for its report-based privacy breaches. Facebook opened Monday down 3% in the face of concerns raised by other tech giants and closed the day down about 7%, with the FTC to include Facebook in its antitrust investigation.
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<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "Google, the subsidiary of Alphabet, is under pressure while the DOJ seems to open an investigation into "Google's business practices relating to its research activities and to other companies", has the Wall Street newspaper. With Alphabet as a technological power, it's hard to know exactly what the DOJ will look at. "Data-reactid =" 14 "> The subsidiary of Alphabet, Google, is under pressure while the Department of Justice is seeking to open an investigation into" Google "commercial practices related to its research and other activities," said the first the Wall Street newspaper. With Alphabet, the technological power it has, it's hard to know exactly what the DOJ is about to examine.
Most of the concerns seem to relate to Google's search data collection and digital advertising market control. Google's search engine currently accounts for about 75% of the global desktop market and this figure is even higher for mobile devices and tablets. Google also accounted for 38% of the digital advertising market in 2018, 17% more than its nearest competitor, Facebook.
Google has been the subject of many investigations in the past and has paid billions to the European Commission in recent years. The FTC had also previously investigated Google, which had finally agreed to pay a $ 22.5 million fine after denying any guilt.
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The Federal Trade Commission began the first steps of an investigation on Amazon. There is no clear sign of what the FTC will specifically consider, but Amazon's control in the online retail sector has always been a concern for politicians. This, combined with its growing influence in many markets, makes it a prime target.
Amazon is also currently under investigation by the European Union who believes that Amazon could stifle competition due to its size. As we saw in the previous Google survey, the European Union is not afraid to punish these big tech companies in the name of consumer protection. The EU also tends to be significantly more stringent than the US in regulating these large companies.
Facebook was added to the survey after the initial reports focused on Amazon and Google. The investigation on Facebook will seek to determine whether it blocks competition or whether it has acted unlawfully and monopolistically. This follows an investigation by the FTC regarding confidentiality issues and the collection of Facebook user data.
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These investigations come after companies and technology giants as a whole have been subject to bipartite pressure from government officials. President Trump, backed by other Republicans, has accused Google of biasing search results and has had some sort of personal quarrel with Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.
Meanwhile, Democrats have focused on whether these tech giants had cut off competition. Antitrust regulation has become one of the priorities of Senator Elizabeth Warren's presidential campaign in 2020, and her reflections were echoed by Senators Amy Klobuchar and Bernie Sanders. With so much support behind the surveys, this could be embarrassing for businesses.
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