It’s here. Politicians have been itching for greater oversight of big technology. Now the wheels have been set in motion.
The Washington Post reported Friday that the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice divvied up oversight of Amazon.com (AMZN) and Alphabet (GOOGL) with the FTC overseeing Amazon and the DOJ being responsible for Alphabet. The implication is that investigations are coming.
Investors should worry. Alphabet shares were already falling on Monday morning as reports of an imminent DOJ investigation of that company surfaced.
And although these processes have probably been underway for some time, news of greater oversight comes as Amazon is reportedly looking to enter the wireless market through the possible purchase of Boost Mobile. Shares of Amazon were down 3% to 1,721.75 on Monday morning compared to a decline of 0.7% for the Nasdaq.