US govt gears up to investigate massive market power of tech giants

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, fuelled by some people’s belief that the firms have too much power and are exerting a harmful effect on users or competitive marketplaces.