Several states are working to launch an antitrust investigation into big tech companies, according to a new report.
The Wall Street Journal reports, citing sources, that the states could announce an investigation as soon as next month. The investigation would likely look at how the big tech companies—like Google, Amazon, and Facebook—squash competition.
The group of attorneys general joining the group is bipartisan, according to the New York Times.
“The attorneys general involved have concerns over the control of personal data by large tech companies and will hold them accountable for anticompetitive practices that endanger privacy and consumer data,” a spokesperson for New York Attorney General Letitia James told the Journal.
The state-level investigation, which the Journal says could include around 20 states, comes after the Justice Department announced last month that it was starting its own antitrust probe into companies.
That probe will review “whether and how market-leading online platforms have achieved market power and are engaging in practices that have reduced competition, stifled innovation, or otherwise harmed consumers,” according to the Justice Department.
The feelings toward big tech companies has taken a hit in recent months. Facebook was slapped with a $5 billion fine by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) early last month, and 2020 Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has called for breaking up the companies.
Chris Hughes, one of Facebook’s co-founders, also called for the government to regulate Facebook and detailed how antitrust law should be used against the social media giant.
You can read all of the Wall Street Journal report here.
READ MORE:
