Shares of Apple, Amazon, Facebook and parent company Google of Google fell more than 2% on Tuesday after the anti-monopoly Committee of the U.S. Congress published a report of its investigations, and accused the company of anticompetitive practices and monopolies, recommending significant changes to the Antimonopoly legislation and practices of these companies.
On Tuesday, shares of the four largest technology companies in the U.S. has declined as a 16-month government inquiry into their competitive practices led to first results in the form of a report on 449 pages about the abuse of market power.
Shares of Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN), Facebook (FB) and its parent company Google Google (GOOGL, GOOG) fell by 2.9%, 3%, of 2.26% and 2.2% respectively at the close of trading on Tuesday.
Commission of the U.S. house of representatives called the Internet giants monopoly, comparing them with the monopolies, “which we last saw in the era of oil barons and rail tycoons”.
The Commission urged Congress to adopt a number of significant changes in antitrust legislation, which will greatly change the position of the major companies on the market if adopted.
In the report, the Commission insists on the need for structural divisions in the companies, but does not indicate specific names.
In relation to the practices Amazon officials point to its position as a platform for trading online retailers, while the company itself is the largest online seller and uses the collection of data on its platform to benefit your own business of electronic Commerce.
Ahead of the report, Amazon urged lawmakers from negative interference in the market, which “will kill independent retailers and will punish consumers by forcing small businesses to leave popular online stores, raising prices and limiting consumer choice”.
Guide Google not responded to consent to a government report, stating that “honestly competes in a fast-paced and highly competitive industry.”
A similar statement was made by Facebook, indicating that its acquisition of Instagram and Whatsapp were “just one of the ways the introduction of new technologies, to bring more benefits to people”.
Apple said: “Verification is reasonable and appropriate, but we strongly disagree with the conclusions.”
Apple also denied the allegations of unfair fees and stated that in the coming days will release a more detailed response.
What’s next?
Investigations against the technological giants of the USA lasts a long time. In addition to the Antimonopoly Committee in Congress, their practices and the acquisition are being investigated by the Federal trade Commission, which evaluates the activities of Facebook and Amazon, as well as the U.S. Department of justice, which is expected to soon file a lawsuit against Google.
The European competition authorities and the governmental Commission have also stepped up monitoring and restrictions on major technology companies in the U.S. in recent years.
At the same time, markets have long weighed these risks, and at the moment are all basically faced the company this big four – it’s fine that not very much impact on their activities.
More substantial can be the risks of potential divisions of this company or of changes in the fundamental practices of their work.
However, experts predict that legislative changes or the adoption of final judgments against these companies probably will not happen soon. Trials usually last, and with regard to the political decisions they are faced with the divergent views of Republicans and Democrats on these issues.
Analysts say that is unlikely that any significant legislative action will be taken until the end of this year. Although many experts say that if the upcoming presidential elections in the United States will win Joe Biden – the pressure on the tech giants will likely increase, which follows the statements of many Democrats.
