Adjunct Professor James Keyte was interviewed for a German publication called Handelsblatt about the challenges of splitting the big tech companies like Google and Facebook.
If the government investigates these platforms and finds a problem under current US law, then it still can not act against them, as in the EU. In the US, the government has to convince a judge to act against it.
Under what circumstances would the government have opportunities in court?
With the help of the Sherman Monopoly Law, it is first necessary to prove that a company has a monopoly power in a well-defined market. That alone can be quite difficult. The mere fact that it has become a monopolist organically does not violate US law, nor does it affect most other countries. Moreover, in the US alone, the fact of being a monopolist does not bring with it “special responsibility” as in the EU.
What is wrong with US antitrust law?
In order to violate US antitrust law, there must be misconduct, which in the US refers to “exclusionary behavior”.
Is this the case on Google, Facebook or others?
In the case of the big tech companies, it’s hard to prove both monopoly power and wrongdoing. Some of these markets do not have large entry barriers and most are very dynamic in terms of competition within certain segments. It would be difficult for Big Tech to defend its position if they did not continually renew and satisfy their customers.
