U.S. Congress, enforcement agencies target tech giants

There might be probes launched against Silicon Valley's tech giants like Amazon and Google for potential antitrust violations.
Kan Hyeong-woo reports.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice have reportedly divided up oversight of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google,... clearing the path for possible investigations into antitrust violations.

Citing anonymous sources,... Reuters reports the Justice Department's Antitrust Division met with FTC officials in recent weeks and agreed to hand over the jurisdiction to the Justice Department to launch potential antitrust probes of Apple and Google. The FTC was given the authority to inspect Amazon and Facebook.

While there have been no official statements from the government agencies,... the latest moves -- if confirmed -- could be a sign of closer watches on the tech giants that have faced rising criticism over disinformation and privacy violations.
The question of whether these companies violate antitrust regulations has long been the subject of debate and industry complaints.

In Congress,... the Chairman of the House Judiciary's subcommittee on antitrust David Cicilline said lawmakers are looking into the tech giants' possible anti-competitive behavior and the committee informed the companies of the investigation plans.
Cicilline added that, if the House probe finds wrongdoings, lawmakers will push the Justice Department and the FTC to dig deeper.
The four tech companies declined to comment on the report.

With the media frenzy about possible investigations from antitrust regulators,... shares in Facebook, Google, Amazon and Apple all fell on Monday.
Kan Hyeong-woo, Arirang News