Google And Apple Breakups On Agenda Of U.S. Regulators

Big Tech is facing its most significant challenge in decades as antitrust regulators on both sides of the Atlantic crackdown on alleged anti-competitive practices that could result in breakup orders for Apple and Alphabet's Google, a first for the industry, as reported by Foo Yun Chee and Supantha Mukherjee for Reuters.

Google has stated it disagrees with the EU's accusations, while Apple said the US lawsuit is wrong on both facts and the law. I Photo: R Boed Flickr

This, in turn, could prompt watchdogs around the world to join in, evidenced by the increasing number of antitrust probes in various countries following the opening of EU and US cases.

Since AT&T was broken up exactly 40 years ago, no company has faced the possibility of a regulator-led breakup in the US until now.

Google has stated it disagrees with the EU's accusations, while Apple said the US lawsuit is wrong on both facts and the law, according to Martin Coulter's report for Reuters.

In 1984, AT&T, also known as Ma Bell, was broken up into seven independent companies called "Baby Bells" to dismantle one of the most powerful monopolies of the 20th century.

Currently, AT&T, Verizon, and Lumen are the only surviving entities. Regulators now allege that companies such as Apple and Google have constructed impenetrable ecosystems around their products, making it difficult for customers to switch to rival services, which led to the coining of the term "walled gardens."

WEEKLY FEATURE : Jose Mari Chan And The Christmas Anthem