Big Tech’s regulatory net could be widening.
Eight state attorneys general met with U.S. Attorney General William Barr on Thursday to consider antitrust actions against Big Tech for “stifling competition on the internet,” according to a statement from the Texas attorney general’s office.
The meeting — which comes on the heels of the Justice Department formally announcing Tuesday it intends to open a broad investigation of major technology companies — is more troubling news for Facebook Inc. FB, -1.93%, which publicly confirmed it is under investigation during its earnings report Wednesday, and three other companies.
Apple Inc. AAPL, -0.79%, Amazon.com Inc. AMZN, -1.35%, and Alphabet Inc.’s GOOGL, -0.33% GOOG, -0.50% Google are also widely believed to be under investigation for misusing their market dominance with existing business practices.
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It remains unclear which other states’ attorneys general attended the meeting. Politico reported Louisiana as one of the participants.
If the state AGs decide to pursue action, it would add another layer of legal headaches for tech’s largest players, who already face scrutiny from federal regulators and lawmakers. Last week, tech was the focus of four Congressional hearings, ranging from its considerable economic sway and online censorship to Facebook’s proposed plan to launch a cryptocurrency.
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