What the 1990s Microsoft Case Tells Us About Regulating Big Tech

Facebook, Google, Amazon, and Apple are facing increasing government scrutiny over competitive practices. They’ll fight back, but there is precedent to take action.

Bill Gates at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on March 3, 1998. Photo: Douglas Graham/Congressional Quarterly/Getty Images

In 1998, the U.S. Justice Department and attorneys general from 21 states brought…