Google, Facebook and Apple stocks tumble amid US antitrust scrutiny
- US Justice Department is looking into probes of Apple and Google, while FTC is overseeing investigation of Facebook
- Amazon could also come under scrutiny by regulators, as pressure from lawmakers to break up tech giants increases
Shares of Facebook, Apple and Google parent Alphabet tumbled on Monday after the US Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission agreed to split up oversight of technology giants, putting US antitrust probes on the horizon.
The DOJ’s preparations to investigate Google, first reported late on Friday, mark the Trump administration’s first concrete step to scrutinise the potentially anticompetitive conduct of a large technology firm.
On Monday, a person familiar with the matter said the FTC will oversee antitrust scrutiny into whether Facebook’s practices harm competition in the digital market. Reuters reported that the DOJ has been given jurisdiction over a potential probe of Apple.
Alphabet fell as much as 7.2 per cent to US$1,027.03 in New York, its lowest since January. Facebook tumbled as much as 9.3 per cent to US$161.01, the most since July. The news also sent shares of Amazon.com down as much as 5.4 per cent and Apple as much as 2.7 per cent.
“If the DOJ moves ahead, an investigation would likely embolden critics of Facebook, Amazon and other tech giants as well, causing rhetoric to heat up during the 2020 election year,” analysts led by Justin Post at Merrill Lynch wrote in a note to investors.