Still, these incipient signs of a tougher line on antitrust are a long way from formal charges, not to mention serious constraints on tech’s conduct. Indeed, immediately after the reports that Justice might be about to investigate Google, Warren issued a statement saying that Google and other Big Tech companies “have too much power and they’re using that power to hurt small businesses, stifle innovation, and tilt the playing field against everyone else. And the big fine that Facebook warned about has not yet been finalized. On Sunday, The Washington Post reported that the FTC might be readying a look into potential antitrust violations by Amazon. Late Friday, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Justice Department is preparing an antitrust investigation into Google’s business practices. On Thursday, senator and presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren put up a “Breakup Big Tech” billboard near a commuter train station in San Francisco. In the past week, however, there have been signs that Washington’s deference to Big Tech may be changing. The US hasn’t brought a big antitrust suit against a tech company since it took on Microsoft 20 years ago. That’s hard to quantify when tech companies offer free services in exchange for personal data, and then use that data to make their products better and faster. But antitrust probes of tech companies in the US are hobbled by the prevailing view of competition law, which requires showing that consumers were harmed. In 2013, the FTC voted unanimously to settle an antitrust investigation of Google without bringing charges, despite a report by FTC staffers that found Google engaged “in tactics that resulted in harm to many vertical competitors.”Įuropean regulators have fined Google more than $9 billion over the past three years for antitrust violations. The administration hired many tech executives into top posts it unapologetically viewed Silicon Valley as the new engine of the global economy. When Democrats were last in the White House, during the Obama administration, they viewed Silicon Valley with reverence. The Trump administration and half of Congress are Republicans, who typically favor more lax corporate oversight. Investors concluded that regulators would, at most, give the company a hard slap on the wrist.Īmericans are used to Washington punting on technology issues. The potential fine seemed manageable Facebook has reported more than $5 billion in profit in some quarters. The reaction: Facebook’s stock jumped 6 percent to its highest price in nine months. Facebook had just said it would take a charge of up to $5 billion for an expected Federal Trade Commission fine related to its role in the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

Six weeks ago, it was hard to believe Washington had the political will to do much about that. Many Americans think Big Tech and Silicon Valley have too much power and need to be reigned in.

Amazon gets antitrust scrutiny on data