Opinion: The Boston Tea Party’s warning for Facebook and Google

Antitrust suits against Big Tech could drag on for years in court and ultimately fail. — AFP

Back in November, it was possible to dismiss the Trump administration’s antitrust suit against Google as too weak, too narrow and too late. But now more than 40 US states – and the US Federal Trade Commission – have filed suit against another tech giant: Facebook. It seems unlikely to be the last major lawsuit against technology giants.

Though these cases are ostensibly about antitrust violations, they are a sign of something bigger: the revival of a longstanding antimonopoly tradition in the United States. This particular view of large, powerful corporations – as threats to the political order – has repeatedly played a significant role in the nation’s history.