Why the Government is Finally Enforcing Antitrust Laws on Big Tech

FEATURING MARC JARSULIC – It is exceedingly rare these days to see officials from both major political parties in the U.S. agree on anything. But recently the Attorneys General from nearly all states in the U.S., Democratic and Republican, came together to announce a major lawsuit against Google over its antitrust violations.

The suit followed from the Federal Trade Commission’s lawsuit against the social media company Facebook also over anti-trust violations. That suit demands that Facebook separate from its recent major acquisitions Instagram and WhatsApp.

Big corporations gobbling up their competition has long been a problem in the U.S. but for years anti-trust laws on the books have simply not been applied or enforced. Until now.

Marc Jarsulic, Chief Economist at the Center for American Progress. He has worked on economic policy matters as deputy staff director and chief economist at the Joint Economic Committee, as chief economist at the Senate Banking Committee. He has practiced antitrust and securities law at the Federal Trade Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and in private practice. He was also a professor of economics at the University of Notre Dame. His latest book is Anatomy of a Financial Crisis.