What is Happening?

After a 16-month investigation into competitive practices at Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google, the House Judiciary subcommittee on antitrust has released its findings and recommendations on how to reform laws to fit the digital age.

The almost 450-page report concludes that the four Big Tech companies enjoy monopoly power and suggests that Congress take up changes to antitrust laws that could result in parts of their businesses being separated.

What Does it Mean?

This is big news and could mean that these tech companies are to be broken up or that business structures are imposed that make different lines of business functionally separate from the parent company.

In more plain terms, this could mean that Alphabet (Google's parent company) could be forced to divest and separate Google from YouTube, or Facebook being forced to break apart Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. Take a look at this great article by Stratechery on Monopolies in America.