The Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) are bringing major illegal monopolization cases against several of America’s big tech firms. In a new primer, Director of Technology and Innovation Policy Jeffrey Westling provides a summary of the cases against Google, Apple, Amazon, and Meta, as well as an update on their status and when to expect some form of resolution.

Key points:

• The DOJ and FTC’s illegal monopolization claims highlight an increasing skepticism about concentration in technology markets.
• To succeed at trial, the DOJ and FTC first need to show that a firm has monopoly power in a relevant market, meaning it has the power to control prices or exclude competition.
• The agencies must also show this monopoly power was attained or maintained through anticompetitive conduct.

Read the analysis