Are Big Tech acquisitions feeding antitrust probes?

As big tech companies collect startups from different industries like Easter eggs, are they unwittingly adding evidence to the antitrust investigations of the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission? While two of the four companies in question -- Alphabet’s Google, and Facebook — slowly begin to concede in public filings and conference calls they are subjects of regulatory scrutiny, they are brazenly scooping up smaller companies that extend their tentacles into new markets and collect more personal information. (Apple and Amazon remain mum on the topic.) “By attempting [to buy Fitbit] at this moment, Google is signaling that it will continue to flex and expand its power in spite of this immense scrutiny,” said Hosue Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman David Cicilline (D-RI). “Google’s proposed acquisition of Fitbit would also give the company deep insights into Americans’ most sensitive information — such as their health and location data — threatening to further entrench its market power online.” “This proposed transaction is a major test of antitrust enforcers’ will and ability to enforce the law and halt anti-competitive concentrations of economic power. It deserves an immediate and thorough investigation,” Chairman Cicilline added. Georgetown’s Institute for Public Representation attorney and Benton Senior Counselor Andrew Schwartzman said, "The accelerated pace in which Google and Facebook have bought companies to expand their digital empires into hardware, artificial intelligence, health-related fields, mobile advertising, video, and other markets are “consistent with the platform companies’ continuing acquisition of companies that can expand their collection of personal data. They also underscore the limitations of current antitrust laws."