One source believes up to 20 states could be involved in the investigation, which may focus on the competitive practices of the companies. It bears similarities to a 1998 state investigation of Microsoft, after which it agreed to make Windows more accessible to third-party developers. This time, however, it’s not clear if Microsoft will be a target of the investigation. Neither WSJ or The New York Times have mentioned the company specifically, though it does seem the action wants to take a wider look at the role of tech giants.
Years of Resources
Either way though, such an investigation is likely to make many, many years. The previous action against Microsoft began in 1992, closed in 1993, reopened the same year, and ended with a settlement in 1994. A large scale investigation into several companies, who are now even larger and cover a variety of different industry, could go on for a very long time. Google and Apple were the only two give comments to press on the matter, with each highlighting previous statements which point to innovation and the benefits of their influence for consumers. Several of the mentioned tech companies have received antitrust complaints over the past few years. Kaspersky Lab filed against Apple over the removal of its Safe Kids app from the Play Store. The EU told Google it must provide a choice of search engine on its Android operating system, though it could charge for it.
