FTC starts turning the screw on Big Tech

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued Special Orders to five of the technology industry’s biggest hitters as it takes a more forensic look at acquisition regulation.

Under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, certain acquisitions or mergers are required to be greenlit by the regulatory authorities in the US before completion. This is supposed to be a measure to ensure an appropriate marketplace is maintained, though there are certain exceptions to the rule. It appears the FTC is making moves to combat the free-wheeling acquisition activities of Big Tech.

Under the Special Orders, Google, Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Microsoft now have to disclose all acquisitions which took place over the last decade. It appears the FTC believes the current rules on acquisition need to be reconsidered.

“Digital technology companies are a big part of the economy and our daily lives,” said FTC Chairman Joe Simons. “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. This will help us continue to keep tech markets open and competitive, for the benefit of consumers.”

While authorities have already questioned whether some acquisitions are in the best interest of a sustainable industry, in fairness, Big Tech has done nothing wrong. Where relevant, the authorities have been notified regarding acquisitions, and they have generally been approved. If the FTC and its cousins in other regulatory authorities believe the current status quo is unappealing, they only have themselves to blame.

In general, an acquisition will always have to be reported if the following three criteria are met:

All three of these criteria have to be met before the potential acquisition has to be approved by the regulators.

Interestingly enough, the Android acquisition by Google is rumoured to be for roughly $50 million, therefore the third criteria was not met, and the team did not need to gain regulatory approval for the deal. This is perhaps what the FTC is attempting to avoid in the future, as while we suspect there was no-one in the office at the time with enough foresight to understand the implications, the regulator might suggest it would not have approved the deal in hindsight.

One of the issues being faced currently, and this is true around the world not just in the US, is that authorities feel they have lost control of the technology industry. Companies like Google and Facebook arguably wield more influence than politicians and regulatory authorities, a position few will be comfortable with outside of Silicon Valley.

Aside from this investigation, the FTC is also exploring Amazon in an antitrust probe, while Google and Facebook are facing their own scrutiny on the grounds of competition. There have also been calls to break-up the power of the technology companies, while European nations are looking into ways to force these companies to pay fair and reasonable tax. Across the world, authorities are looking for ways to hold Big Tech more accountable and to dilute influence.

Interestingly enough, we don’t actually know what the outcome of the latest FTC foray will be. It will of course have one eye on updating acquisition rules, though as Section 6(b) of the FTC Act allows the regulator to conduct investigations that do not have a specific law enforcement purpose; it’s a blank cheque and the potential outcome could head down numerous routes.