The American tech giants are facing a solidifying political front.

Left and right politicians want to curtail their economic and political power.

The determination is expressed in legislative initiatives and public statements with which left-wing and right-wing populists seek attention.

Roland Lindner

Business correspondent in New York.

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    Winand von Petersdorff-Campen

    Business correspondent in Washington.

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      However, Silicon Valley corporations find consolation in a legal system that has been very reluctant to restrict the power position of companies and dampen their will to expand over the past few decades. The economist Tommaso Valetti underlines two numbers that confirm this attitude: 1000 and zero. The big five (Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google and Microsoft) have bought around 1000 companies in the past 20 years. Antitrust authorities have prevented the purchase zero times, and occasionally they issue requirements, compliance with which is not always tracked.

      The attitude has now been confirmed by a judge when he provisionally rejected a competition lawsuit by the FTC against Facebook. The plaintiff had called for the group to be broken up in the form of a separation from the two services Whatsapp and Instagram, which were once purchased. The justification of the judge is significant, as it shows how difficult it is to let the influence of the corporations shrink under the prevailing legal doctrine.

      The judge held the plaintiff antitrust authority for not having proven a central allegation: that Facebook has a monopoly. Nevertheless, he made the effort to respond to further allegations of the plaintiffs and to evaluate them. Even if the cartel watchdogs had proven that Facebook had achieved a monopoly position, a conviction would not be mandatory. Because, as the judge explained, monopolies are granted the right to refuse to cooperate with other companies, including possible rivals.

      Facebook was accused in the lawsuit of preventing rival apps from connecting to Facebook: This prevents competition from advancing and generally discourages providers from developing apps that compete with Facebook, according to the plaintiffs. Facebook was allowed to do that, the judge said soberly. This interpretation is relevant for other platform operators such as Google or Apple, who have to defend their house policy in their app store against the game company Epic in court. The forecast of legal experts: Apple wins.

      The school of thought, shaped by Chicago economists, that size can potentially bring efficiency advantages to the benefit of the consumer and that protection of competition must not degenerate into protection of weak competitors, shapes America's highest jurisprudence. Change can only bring new laws. The decision for Facebook provided ammunition for it. Right and left politicians said this ruling is the best evidence that the country needs stricter antitrust law.

      Fittingly, a whole series of corresponding bills were presented in the House of Representatives just a few weeks ago. These plans could lead to significant interference in the business of Facebook and the other big industry representatives such as Apple, Amazon and Google. It might become easier to break up the companies, forbid them to sell certain products, and stop acquisitions.

      The tech corporations have kicked off their lobby machinery.

      They mobilize industry organizations they fund and write letters to politicians conjuring dire scenarios.

      Apple claims in such a letter that doing so would compromise device security and consumer privacy.

      According to the New York Times, CEO Tim Cook personally called Nancy Pelosi, the spokeswoman for the Democratic Party in the House of Representatives.

      Trump as a turning point

      The tech giants are feeling headwinds from politicians and regulators. Not only in Europe, but also in their American homeland. The mood has turned in the past few years. A crucial turning point came in 2016 when Donald Trump was elected President. The Democrats blamed misinformation on platforms like Facebook for their defeat. This grew into a broader “techlash”, which also expressed itself in increasing criticism of the market power or the data protection practices of corporations.

      Trump's Republicans attacked the industry more and more, albeit with a completely different approach: They accuse Facebook & Co. of conspiring with the Democrats and suppressing conservative political positions.

      The CEOs are now regularly quoted for hearings before Congress.

      The Justice Department filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google, and the FTC followed suit with its Facebook lawsuit.

      It has become even more uncomfortable this year under the new political majority.

      This is shown by the latest bills, which are supported by some Republicans, but mainly driven by Democrats.

      Not least because of the blocking minority of the Republicans in the Senate, it is by no means certain that the drafts will find a majority.

      The stock exchange provides an indication of how seriously the threat is to be taken. The share value of Facebook has risen by almost 50 percent within a year, Google even increased by 67 percent, Apple by 50 percent, and Amazon improved by almost 15 percent within a year. Microsoft finally recorded an increase of almost 32 percent within twelve months. However, the stock market is not good at predicting breaks in traditional developments. One such would be a drastic tightening of antitrust law in America.