By Erik Sherman, Forbes
While companies like Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon become ever-larger behemoths and make up double-digit portions of the S&P 500 index, politicians on both sides of the fence have been using the dreaded R-word: regulation.
A recent Department of Justice antitrust lawsuit targeting Google, with attorneys general of 11 red states and a number of blue states considering joining, is just one example.
Democrats and Republicans, who had distinct areas of criticism of big tech companies like Google and Facebook, have moved back and forth across the lines. It’s tough to tell where anyone stands without a digitally updated score card. But “break up Big Tech” has become a fixture in public debate.
That leaves industry-watchers wondering whether lawsuits and other regulatory actions have any chance of making a difference, and if the government can realistically hope to win.
