U.S. moving toward major antitrust probe of tech giants

[webfact]

U.S. moving toward major antitrust probe of tech giants

By Diane Bartz and Jan Wolfe

 

The logos of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google are seen in a combination photo from Reuters files. REUTERS/File Photos

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government is gearing up to investigate the massive market power of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google, sources told Reuters on Monday, setting up what could be an unprecedented wide-ranging probe of some of the world's largest companies.

 

The Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice, which jointly enforce antitrust laws in the United States, have divided oversight over the four companies, two sources said, with Amazon and Facebook under the watch of the FTC, and Apple and Google under the Justice Department.

 

Technology companies are facing a backlash in the United States and across the world, fueled by some people's belief that the firms have too much power and are exerting a harmful effect on users or competitive marketplaces.

 

The Justice Department and FTC generally do not acknowledge preparations for any investigations.

 

U.S. President Donald Trump has called for closer scrutiny of social media companies and Google, accusing them of suppressing conservative voices online, without presenting any evidence. He has also repeatedly criticized Amazon for taking advantage of the U.S. Postal Service, also without evidence.

 

Shares of Facebook Inc and Google's owner Alphabet Inc both fell more than 6% on Monday. Amazon.com Inc shares fell 4.5% and Apple Inc shares were down 1%.

 

U.S. media reported on Friday that the Justice Department was laying the groundwork to investigate Google to determine whether the world's biggest online advertising platform was using its size to squeeze out smaller competitors, violating laws designed to ensure fair competition. The company declined comment on Friday.

 

The Washington Post reported on Saturday that Amazon would come under the remit of the FTC in any probe. Amazon declined comment on Monday.

Apple and Facebook did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Monday.

 

REGULATORY SCRUTINY

The four technology companies, all with market values in the hundreds of billions of dollars, have drawn scrutiny from regulators and lawmakers around the world over aspects of their business practices, although it was not clear what the U.S. Justice Department or FTC were planning to look at, if anything.

 

Amazon, the world's biggest online retailer, has been criticized for holding sway over third-party sellers on its website, who must pay for advertising to compete against first-party and private label sales by Amazon itself. Lawmakers have also argued that Amazon's low prices have hurt brick-and-mortar retailers, many of whom have been unable to compete and have closed.

 

The European Union is investigating a complaint by streaming music provider Spotify Technology SA that Apple abuses its power over app downloads. In 2014, the iPhone maker settled a Justice Department lawsuit alleging it conspired with publishers to raise the price of e-books.

 

The FTC has already been investigating Facebook's sharing of data belonging to 87 million of its users with the now-defunct British political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica. Facebook said in April that it expected to be fined up to $5 billion by the regulator.

 

Facebook, which owns one-time rivals Instagram and WhatsApp and has more than 1.5 billion daily users, has a huge influence in many countries and has been criticized for allowing misleading posts and so-called 'fake news' on its service.

 

The company last month rejected a call from one of its co-founders to split it into three, as lawmakers ramped up pressure on the Justice Department to launch an antitrust investigation.

 

Google has faced accusations that its web search service, which dominates the market and has become a verb, leads consumers to its own products at the cost of competitors.

 

The FTC settled an investigation of Google in 2013, concluding that the company had not manipulated its search results to hurt rivals. But the company has been fined multiple times by the European Union's competition regulator, most recently in March for 1.5 billion euro ($1.7 billion) in a case focused on illegal practices in search advertising brokering from 2006 to 2016.

 

Legal experts have said U.S. regulators are unlikely to attempt to break up the technology giants.

 

It is rare to break up a company but not unheard of, with Standard Oil and AT&T being two of the biggest examples. U.S. antitrust probes more often result in an agreement to change certain business practices.

 

(Reporting by Diane Bartz and Jan Wolfe; in Washington; Additional reporting by Nandita Bose and Stephen Nellis; Editing by Bill Rigby)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-06-04

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[Cryingdick]

Apple came up with some brilliant solutions for privacy concerns today. They are the least likely to be affected by this. However they have some huge issues ahead as they are the most susceptible to Chinese trade woes. 

 

Google and Facebook tanked because they are basically the most evil of the bunch and deserve everything they get. I say this because with those two companies freedom of expression is filtered and suppressed. 

 

Amazon's issue is putting people out of business using their sales data to find out what sells. If their analytics detects a huge seller on their platform they source it and sell it themselves. Usually at a lower cost. I am not sure you can do much about that is the sellers could use Ebay and any other online platform they so desire. 

 

Amazon and Apple are undervalued at the moment.

[geoffbezoz]

No doubt more lip service resulting in no action for years.

[Cryingdick]

2 minutes ago, geoffbezoz said:

No doubt more lip service resulting in no action for years.

 

Well all of the companies have the best legal representation money can buy.  The feds are actually the ones that are outgunned on this which is actually a refreshing change.

[Chomper Higgot]

1 hour ago, Cryingdick said:

Apple came up with some brilliant solutions for privacy concerns today. They are the least likely to be affected by this. However they have some huge issues ahead as they are the most susceptible to Chinese trade woes. 

 

Google and Facebook tanked because they are basically the most evil of the bunch and deserve everything they get. I say this because with those two companies freedom of expression is filtered and suppressed. 

 

Amazon's issue is putting people out of business using their sales data to find out what sells. If their analytics detects a huge seller on their platform they source it and sell it themselves. Usually at a lower cost. I am not sure you can do much about that is the sellers could use Ebay and any other online platform they so desire. 

 

Amazon and Apple are undervalued at the moment.

This case is not about Illiberals being denied a platform for their hate and lies within private networks.

 

There is no right to freedom of expression over privately owned networks.

 

Away with you and the faux assault on freedom you were fed and are now repeating.

[jingjai9]

Are they going to investigate or are they going to have hearings and ask for suggestions from the tech giants like they did with Jamie Dimon from the banks and Zuckerberg last time he was up there in front of Congress?

 

 These companies possess huge lobbying power in Washington. Please, convince me that having these large companies controlling huge amounts of data "under one roof" does not serve as an advantage for the security and surveillance state. Tell me there is no advantage for a government having up to 80% or more of the world's computers using one operating system run by one company in one country. And Microsoft is not even on the list to be regulated.

[Srikcir]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

The U.S. government is gearing up to investigate the massive market power of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google

What about the rest of the tech giants:

Largest tech firms by 2018 sales estimates:

• Alphabet, $131.3 billion
• Microsoft, $106.4 billion (FY ends in June)
• IBM, $78.8 billion
• Intel, $63.8 billion
• Hewlett-Packard, $54 billion (FY ends in October)
• Cisco, $48.5 billion (FY ends in July)
• Oracle, $39.8 billion (FY ends in May)

In comparison:

• Apple, $273.3 billion (FY ends in Sept.)
• Amazon, $228.7 billion
• Facebook, $53.8 billion

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/21/ten-largest-us-tech-firms-2018-revenue-seen-topping-1-trillion.html

 

 

 

[Srikcir]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

The U.S. government is gearing up to investigate the massive market power of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google

After Trump and his Republican Congress gave them all massive tax cuts of billions of dollars in 2017!

Maybe with this threat of anti-trust investigation, none will donate anything to the Trump re-election and perhaps align politically with the Democrat Party.

[Chomper Higgot]

2 minutes ago, Srikcir said:

After Trump and his Republican Congress gave them all massive tax cuts of billions of dollars in 2017!

Maybe with this threat of anti-trust investigation, none will donate anything to the Trump re-election and perhaps align politically with the Democrat Party.

It would make no sense to have only one horse in the race, big business shells out money both sides of the political divide.

 

That said, time to listen to what Elizabeth Warren has to say on the matter of 'Anti-Trust' and 'Big Tech'.

 

[Krataiboy]

Most countries have civil and criminal laws against so-called hate speech (in the UK, for example, if it is likely to promote violence) and lies (defamation, libel, slander).

 

Other than these legal restraints, the corporate mass and social media should not only be allowed, but actively encouraged, to publish "illiberal" views - irrespective of whether they are likely to cause hurt somebody's feelings.

 

Without the freedom to express views which may cause offence to someone somewhere, the kind of civil discourse required to resolve highly-contentious issues is simply not available. As history demonstrates, the lack of a means to let off steam can lead, ultimately, to violence.

 

In recent years, political correctness and a reluctance to challenge the "official" view have robbed the print and online mass media of its traditional role as the primary platform for ventilating controversial views.

 

Social media has picked up the baton, and we need to ensure Mark Zuckerberg and his ilk are not led down the same pussilanimous path as their Fleet Street predecessors.  

 

Plans for government or other external regulation of the likes of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube must be opposed. But so, too, must the increasing tendency of social media outlets to self-censor and punish subscribers for holding contrarian or offensive views.

 

The mass-deplatforming of either-loved-and-loathed MEP contender Tommy Robinson is arguably a case of overkill (one of a growing number). Meting out the same treatment to anyone rash enough just to mention the man's name online smacks of corporate totalitarianism.  

 

Let the law of the land alone be the arbiter of all free speech. Otherwise publish - and be damned.

Edited June 4, 2019 by Krataiboy