Tech’s Titans Tiptoe Toward Monopoly

Amazon, Facebook and Google may be repeating the history of steel, utility, rail and telegraph empires past—while Apple appears vulnerable

Tech’s Titans Monopoly

Amazon, Facebook and Google may be repeating the history of steel, utility, rail and telegraph empires past—while Apple appears vulnerable



Today’s titans of industry. Photo illustration of Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Alphabet’s Larry Page, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Apple’s Tim Cook. ILLUSTRATION BY SEAN MCCABE; BEZOS: ZUMA PRESS; PAGE, ZUCKERBERG, COOK: BLOOMBERG NEWS; SUITS: LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
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    • Imagine a not-too-distant future in which trustbusters force Facebook to sell off Instagram and WhatsApp. Imagine a time when Amazon’s cloud and delivery services are so dominant the company is broken up like AT&T. Imagine Google’s search or YouTube becoming regulated monopolies, like electricity and water.

    Facebook Inc., Google parent Alphabet Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. are en