Antitrust Reviews May Force Big Tech to Rethink Conduct

While the nation’s leading antitrust enforcers—the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice—are signaling fresh interest in examining big tech companies, it could take years for any concrete legal action to come from their efforts. But that doesn’t mean it will be business as usual for Google, Facebook, Apple and Amazon, each now coming under the microscope of regulators.

Several antitrust attorneys told The Information they wouldn’t be surprised to see big tech companies modify some of their conduct ahead of antitrust lawsuits, with the goal of softening some of their more controversial business practices. Some could put the kibosh on large acquisitions, while others may be less likely to impose technical restrictions on outside companies seeking to connect with their technologies.