FTC will review past mergers by Facebook, Google and other big tech companies

The Federal Trade Commission said it would probe past mergers by Alphabet, Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Microsoft, seeking to study the ways that tech giants gobbled up their rivals — and if their acquisitions may have skirted federal antitrust laws. The new effort by the FTC will require all five companies to provide information about the smaller players they've purchased over the past 10 years, including documents for deals that may not have been large enough to warrant deep, closer inspection by government watchdogs at the time. The records the FTC amasses could ultimately influence its thinking about Silicon Valley and its size, sparking investigations, resulting in tough punishments or prompting the commission to seek further enforcement powers from Congress once it concludes its work. “This initiative will enable the Commission to take a closer look at acquisitions in this important sector, and also to evaluate whether the federal agencies are getting adequate notice of transactions that might harm competition,” said FTC Chairman Joe Simons.

The inquiry differs from a traditional investigation: Using its so-called 6(b) authority, the FTC can embark on wide-ranging reviews of entire industries without necessarily bringing a law-enforcement action. The agency in the past has invoked such powers to delve deep into drug prices, alcohol ads and gas gouging, experts said, often ushering about major changes in the markets and companies it studies.