Even targeted antitrust sends a broad signal of aggressive overregulation.
Raymond J. Keating 21. Chief Economist for the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council and Adjunct Professor in the MBA Program at the Townsend School of Business at Dowling College, “Antitrust Fictions (and Actions) Will Have Real, Negative Economic Consequences”, SBE Council, 6/18/2021, https://sbecouncil.org/2021/06/18/antitrust-fictions-and-actions-will-have-real-negative-economic-consequences/
It needs to be understood that while supposedly targeting so-called “Big Tech,” these intrusive regulations and substantial costs would fall on competitors as well, thereby actually discouraging competition in technology markets. For good measure, moving ahead with his kind of hyper-antitrust regulation of tech firms lays the groundwork for doing so in other industries, such as in retail, energy, health and medical sectors, and so on. This is what Senate anti-trust crusaders hope to accomplish.
The message is clear: Beware entrepreneurs, businesses and investors if you become too successful or if you cross certain political constituencies. The government stands ready to punish you via intrusive and costly regulation.