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Big Tech will soon be faced with too many antitrust investigations to rely upon, while several states would intend to launch their own joint investigation to accompany all federal investigations already underway.
Attorneys General of no less than 20 states could join forces to determine whether dominant technology players are unfairly using their outsized market power to nullify competition, sources told The Wall Street Journal.
The WSJ reports that a bipartisan group of a dozen attorneys general met last month with representatives of the Justice Department to discuss competition in the technology sector, a meeting attended by the GAs of the Mississippi, New York, North Carolina and Texas. . The Office of the Attorney General of New York State, Letitia James, told the WSJ that officials involved "are concerned about the control of personal data by large technology companies and hold them accountable. anti-competitive practices endangering privacy and consumer data ".
The probe's specific targets have not been named, but are generally considered to include Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google, all of which are at least targets of other antitrust probes, in the United States and Canada. l & # 39; abroad.
A crowded ground
The WSJ wrote that the rumor that the investigation could have been conducted could well align with the ongoing antitrust review efforts of the DOJ, which is in itself just one of the Many organizations are interested in the competitive practices of technology.
Last month, the Justice Department publicly confirmed that its antitrust division is reviewing "the concerns widely voiced by consumers, businesses, and entrepreneurs" on "leading online platforms". Although the agency has not named names, previous reports suggest that the DOJ and the Federal Trade Commission have agreed to split antitrust surveillance, with MJ digging positions in Apple and Google, and the FTC reviewing Amazon and Facebook.
Facebook in July confirmed that it was under antitrust investigation by the FTC. The company's co-founder, Chris Hughes, has publicly called for the company's dissolution, including via an alleged roadshow to federal and US regulators, explaining why Facebook is too big and should split up.
FTC President Joseph Simons told the Financial Times yesterday that Facebook's current plans to merge the messaging features of WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram into a unified platform could make the break much more difficult. "If they maintain separate structures and commercial infrastructure, it is much easier to disinvest in these circumstances than when they are completely entangled and all the eggs are scrambled," Simons said.
Meanwhile, Amazon is facing a growing number of retailers who are asking the US regulators to join Germany, Austria, Italy and the European Union, all of whom have launched separate antitrust investigations on the behavior of Amazon. The European Commission has also been occupied by Google, which has imposed fines on billions of dollars four times in recent years for violation of the monopoly right.
As if that were not enough, Congress also launched its own series of antitrust hearings in June on "Competition in Digital Markets". The survey, which enjoys bipartisan support, has recently begun to ask about Apple's position on the right of consumers to repair their own devices.
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