The top U.S. antitrust regulators admitted at a congressional hearing on Tuesday that they had wasted time arguing over who would investigate which tech company, as they take on major probes of firms like Alphabet's Google for allegedly using their market power unfairly.
Alphabet's Google will allow rivals to compete to be the default search engines on new Android devices in Europe, but they will have to pay for the privilege.
The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating whether big technology companies are engaged in anticompetitive behaviour, addressing a rising tide of criticism they have become too powerful to the detriment of consumers.
The US Justice Department said on Tuesday it was opening a broad investigation of major digital technology firms into whether they engage in anticompetitive practices, the strongest sign the Trump administration is stepping up its scrutiny of Big Tech.
The arcane topic of antitrust law is getting more attention with the U.S. government gearing up to investigate whether Google, Facebook, Apple, and Amazon.com compete fairly.