Technology giants are bracing for sweeping investigations into their business practices as top U.S. antitrust officials and lawmakers carved out a battle plan targeting Silicon Valley's best-known names — sending shares tumbling and raising the prospect of a drawn-out fight with the government.
The House Judiciary Committee said late Monday it plans a bipartisan investigation into whether digital platform companies are using their market power to harm competition. That move heightens scrutiny of Alphabet Inc.'s Google, Amazon.com Inc. and Facebook Inc. after news that top antitrust officials have agreed to divvy up oversight of several technology giants.
The Federal Trade Commission will take responsibility for antitrust probes of Facebook and Amazon, while the Justice Department is set to open an investigation of Google, according to people familiar with the matter. The Justice Department will also oversee scrutiny of Apple Inc., one of the people said.