This archive report was first published on 24 July 2019.
On July 24, 2019, the US Justice Department announced an investigation into leading online platforms, scrutinizing whether they are unfairly restricting competition.
The investigation, sparked by widespread concerns about search, social media, and retail services online, will examine the market power of companies such as Facebook, Google, Amazon, and Apple.
Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim stated, “Without the discipline of meaningful market-based competition, digital platforms may act in ways that are not responsive to consumer demands.”
The Department of Justice has sweeping powers to investigate firms suspected of breaching competition laws and can even break up companies deemed too dominant.
Other investigations into similar concerns are already underway in the US Federal Trade Commission and the European Union.
Technology companies, including Google and Facebook, have insisted they have viable competition and warn that breaking up big American firms might pave the way for foreign competitors, particularly from China.
