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| US justice department targets big tech firms in antitrust review | US justice department targets big tech firms in antitrust review |
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| The US justice department is opening a broad antitrust review into major technology firms, as criticism over the companies’ growing reach and power heats up. | |
| The investigation will focus on growing complaints that the companies are unlawfully stifling competition. | |
| “The Department’s review will consider the widespread concerns that consumers, businesses and entrepreneurs have expressed about search, social media, and some retail services online,” the Department of Justice said in a statement. | |
| A new antitrust frontier – the issue closing partisan divides in the name of policing big tech | A new antitrust frontier – the issue closing partisan divides in the name of policing big tech |
| “Without the discipline of meaningful market-based competition, digital platforms may act in ways that are not responsive to consumer demands,” added the assistant attorney general Makan Delrahim, of the antitrust division. | “Without the discipline of meaningful market-based competition, digital platforms may act in ways that are not responsive to consumer demands,” added the assistant attorney general Makan Delrahim, of the antitrust division. |
| The review will investigate practices of online platforms including Facebook, Alphabet’s Google, Amazon and Apple. | The review will investigate practices of online platforms including Facebook, Alphabet’s Google, Amazon and Apple. |
| The investigation comes amid calls from lawmakers, including Democratic presidential candidates such as Elizabeth Warren, that the companies should face more scrutiny. | |
| Lat week, Facebook, Google, and Amazon faced a grilling before the House subcommittee on antitrust, commercial and administrative law over their hold on markets including digital advertising, e-commerce and cloud computing. | |
| Lawmakers questioned Amazon over the fees it levies against third-party sellers on the platform and whether this creates a monopoly of power. They also questioned Facebook executives over practices of targeting startups for acquisition and copying features of companies that decline to be acquired. | |
| Lawmakers also grilled Facebook this month over its plans to launch a global cryptocurrency, called Libra. In the hearing, Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio said Facebook showed “breathtaking arrogance” in attempting to launch a digital financial service after a number of major privacy scandals. | |
| In July, the Federal Trade Commission approved a $5bn fine against Facebook for its handling of user data surrounding the Cambridge Analytica scandal in 2018. | |
| “Facebook is dangerous,” Brown said, likening the company to a toddler playing with matches. “It has burned the house down repeatedly and called every attempt a learning experience. Do you really think people should trust you with their bank accounts and their money?” | |
| The Department of Justice investigation is already under way, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. The department hosted a private presentation from critics of big technology companies, who walked legislators through concerns and arguments for breaking up the firms. | |
| Facebook, Alphabet, Amazon and Apple did not immediately respond to requests for comment. | Facebook, Alphabet, Amazon and Apple did not immediately respond to requests for comment. |
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