There's too much focus on "monopolies" and the word "monopoly" itself. The Sherman Anti-Trust Act was about trusts, which are by definition different companies

There's too much focus on "monopolies" and the word "monopoly" itself. The Sherman Anti-Trust Act was about trusts, which are by definition different companies that work together to control a market. The FTC should be focused on trade, and the size of these companies hinders trade and eliminates competition. Facebook should never have been allowed to acquire Instagram or WhatsApp. If competition is key to a free market, what distortion happens when rich companies can simply buy competitors, ensuring they don't have to actually compete? Google should never have been allowed to buy DoubleClick for the same reason. Some of the others are tougher, simply because blocking acquisitions is easier and more popular than breaking up divisions that appear to be developed in-house. To say Amazon shouldn't be allowed to buy Whole Foods wouldn't raise a lot of ire, but to say Amazon should be a separate company from AWS flies in the face of how many people think things ought to work.