Factbox-How Big Tech Is Faring Against U.S. Lawsuits and Probes

Current Status of U.S. Antitrust Cases Against Big Tech Companies

(Reuters) – Big Tech platforms Facebook Inc and Google have been hit with a series of antitrust lawsuits by the U.S. federal government and states on charges they are operating monopolies and abusing their power.

Below is the status of the cases, as well as government probes of Apple Inc and Amazon.com Inc.

Two lawsuits against Facebook:

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission filed a new complaint against Facebook in mid-August 2021, adding more detail on the accusation the social media company crushed or bought rivals and once again asking a judge to force the social media giant to sell Instagram and WhatsApp. The agency did so at the invitation of Judge James Boasberg, who had said that its previous effort fell short.

Boasberg, however, threw out a related state lawsuit entirely, saying the attorneys general had waited too long. They have indicated that they plan to appeal.

Four lawsuits against Google

The U.S. Justice Department sued Alphabet Inc’s Google in October, accusing the $1 trillion company of illegally using its market muscle to hobble rivals. A trial date was set for Sept. 12, 2023.

A lawsuit by 38 U.S. states and territories accuses Google of abusing its market power to try to make its search engine as dominant inside cars, TVs and speakers as it is in phones. This was consolidated with the federal lawsuit for purposes of discovery.

Texas, backed by other states, filed a separate lawsuit against Google, accusing it of breaking antitrust law in how it runs its online advertising business.

Dozens of state attorneys general sued Google on July 7, alleging it bought off competitors and used restrictive contracts to unlawfully maintain a monopoly for its app store on Android phones.

Justice Department investigates Apple:

This probe, revealed in June 2019, appears to focus on Apple Inc’s app store. Some app developers have accused Apple of introducing new products very similar to existing apps created by other developers and sold in the Apple Store, and then trying to banish the older apps from the store because they compete with Apple’s new product. Apple says it seeks to have only the highest-quality apps in the app store.

Justice Department probing Facebook and Amazon:

In July 2019, the Justice Department said it was expanding its Big Tech probes to include “search, social media, and some retail services online” – an apparent reference to Facebook and Amazon.com Inc.

Federal Trade Commission on Amazon:

In its investigation of Amazon, the FTC is likely looking at the inherent conflict of interest of Amazon competing with small sellers on its marketplace platform, including allegations that it used information from sellers on its platform to decide what products it would introduce.

(Reporting by Diane Bartz in Washington; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Matthew Lewis)