Monopoly Matters

The Verge reports that 50 attorneys general from US states and territories signed onto an antitrust investigation into Google, placing even more pressure on the major tech firm that is already facing intense scrutiny over its market dominance from the government. They cite Open Markets' Director of Enforcement Strategy Sally Hubbard's statement on the news: “We haven’t seen a major monopolization case against a tech giant since Microsoft was sued in 1998. Today’s announcement marks the start of a new era.”

Open Markets Director of Enforcement Strategy Sally Hubbard speaks with The Telegraph about what a big tech probe by the U.S. attorneys general would mean and how the law could be leveraged against Google. Any upcoming probe into Google would also rely on the Sherman Act, and proving that the search giant has both “monopoly power and exclusionary conduct” says Hubbard.

The FTC could do more to punish companies like Google and Facebook over privacy violations. But the bigger problem is that Congress continues to do nothing at all. "Often the problem with privacy issues is that the FTC's authority is limited, but here the FTC's authority under COPPA is ample," says Sally Hubbard, director of strategic enforcement at the nonprofit Open Markets Institute told WIRED.