The history of the spin-off: past and present

In the United States, the purpose of antitrust laws is to maintain a competitive market, to produce high-quality goods in a sustainable market, and to promote economic welfare is its main focus. The court can take two remedies against antitrust violations: one is behavioral remedies that try to restrict the company from engaging in specific anti-competitive behaviors, and the other is structural remedies that essentially dissolve the company so that anti-competitive behaviors are no longer possible or beneficial. Structured remedies are rarely used in the United States, but they have recently become highly demanded solutions.

In the past few decades, technology companies have become economic leaders. Since 1995, when Fortune 500 companies such as Exxon Mobil, General Electric, and Coca-Cola represented the manufacturing and consumer goods industries, the technology industry has undergone tremendous changes. In 2020, the top five companies are all technology giants. The fourth-ranked Berkshire Hathaway is almost twice the market value of non-technology companies, and the latter ranks sixth. Technology companies have risen through innovative means, but critics believe that the methods they use to maintain market dominance violate antitrust regulations.

The four major technology companies, Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Apple, are often accused of using anti-competitive business methods to use their market dominance to stifle competitors.