During the U.S. government's long antitrust investigation of IBM (1969-1982) the company basically stopped making any acquisitions -- because it felt those were

During the U.S. government's long antitrust investigation of IBM (1969-1982) the company basically stopped making any acquisitions -- because it felt those were sure to be vetoed and to reinforce trust-busters' belief that something bad was afoot. A long-running antitrust probe of FB or other tech giants might have a similar chilling effect on growth plans, even if the case itself doesn't result in big changes.