Big Tech comes under scrutiny

In July, the U.S. Department of Justice opened a sweeping antitrust investigation of big technology companies and whether their online platforms have hurt competition, suppressed innovation or harmed consumers through data collection. After a series of scandals that compromised user privacy at Facebook, lawmakers began calling for stricter regulations or even breaking up the big tech companies, which also includes Apple, Google and Amazon. On Sept. 9, state attorneys general from more than four dozen states announced they were also beginning investigations into the market power and corporate behavior of big tech companies. In Congress, a bipartisan probe by the House Judiciary subcommittee on antitrust was also launched in 2019. Committee chairman Rep. David Cicilline called for legislative or regulatory changes but said breaking up the companies would be a last resort.