Big boxes back probe into Amazon, Google

WASHINGTON — The Retail Industry Leaders Association is supporting moves by the White House to investigate tech giants such as Amazon and Google for antitrust violations. The consortium, which includes Walmart, Home Depot, Target and Best Buy, issued a letter calling on the Federal Trade Commission to “focus on ensuring that competition among retailers actually benefits consumers, rather than seeing those benefits stifled by dominant players and persistent oligopolies”. The FTC is sharing oversight of the dossier with the Justice Department. The scope of any potential investigation has not been revealed, but President Trump has raised concerns about the market dominance of big tech companies, even accusing Google of seeking to undermine his re-election bid.