Elements, Luc Riordan

Wrestling with Giants

Introduction

Wrestling with giants. Analyze US antitrust concerns against tech giants like Google, Facebook, and Microsoft, exploring reasons for action, litigation risks, and alternative solutions for the digital age.

Abstract

It is unquestionable that the companies that hold the public eye today are mostly from the technology sector. Growing rapidly from the 1990s and onwards, the current leaders in the field now see themselves at the center of concerns over monopoly and trust forming issues that have led to renewed interest form the US Attorney General's Office. Trust busting has been a staple of American Competition Law, particularly in the past few decades and focus is not being turned on the social media giants that have become key players in everyday life. This paper looks to analyze the reasons for such action and the concerns surrounding litigation of this type with particular reference to current complaints against Google, Facebook and Microsoft. While showing the benefits of action to protect legitimate competition, the paper seeks to caution against the notion of overlitigation and the perverse incentives it may provide. Finally, it offers some alternatives to the standard trust-busting solution of company breakups to account for the advent of the digital afe in which these tech giants exist.

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