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The Federal Trade Commission said it wants to examine acquisitions made by tech giants dating as far back as 2010.
In a statement released Tuesday, the FTC said it is looking into deals struck by Google-parent Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft to “deepen its understanding of large technology firms’ acquisition activity.”
Among the information FTC wants to glean from these deals: how the companies report transactions to federal antitrust authorities.
“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 in a statement. “This will help us continue to keep tech markets open and competitive, for the benefit of consumers.”
The agency will focus on acquisitions between Jan. 1, 2010 and Dec. 31, 2019.
All five tech giants have faced increased scrutiny from lawmakers over their business practices. Last year, the U.S. Justice Department announced an antitrust investigation into the companies.
Facebook, in particular, has generated calls from critics seeking a breakup of the social networking titan. Last October, in a leaked audio from meetings with employees, Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he would “go to the mat” to fight any attempts at breaking up the company.
Follow Brett Molina on Twitter: @brettmolina23.
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