The US Department of Justice has announced a wide-ranging investigation into leading online platforms and they may be stifling competition. The Department’s Antitrust Division is reviewing whether and how market-leading platforms have achieved market power and are engaging in practices that have reduced competition, stifled innovation, or otherwise harmed consumers, it said in a statement.
The announcement follows several hearings in Congress looking at competition and the impact of major online platforms such as Facebook and Google on issues ranging from consumer privacy to freedom of speech. Some members of Congress have gone as far as calling for a break-up of some of the larger internet platforms, such as Google or Amazon, in order to improve competition.
The Department said its review will consider the "widespread concerns that consumers, businesses, and entrepreneurs have expressed about search, social media, and some retail services online". The Department’s Antitrust Division is conferring with and seeking information from the public, including industry participants who have direct insight into competition in online platforms, as well as others.
The goal of the Department’s review is to assess the competitive conditions in the online marketplace "in an objective and fair-minded manner", it said, and to ensure Americans have access to free markets in which companies compete on the merits to provide services that users want.
