The Federal Trade Commission is launching an extensive antitrust investigation into five major tech companies, seeking information regarding the acquisitions and practices of the companies over the last decade.

The FTC's investigation has targeted five prominent tech companies in its sweeping investigation, Facebook (FB  ), Microsoft (MSFT  ), Apple (AAPL  ), Amazon (AMZN  ), and Alphabet (GOOGL  ). The investigation will require the companies to divulge information on all acquisitions that had not been previously reported to the FTC from between 2010 and 2019. The move may be part of a larger effort by the FTC to investigate potential anti-competitive practices by the tech companies.

Under current regulations, large mergers over $90 Million require federal oversight, though there are exceptions. Smaller acquisitions do not require as much oversight under current regulations, as such, many smaller acquisitions have passed under the radar over the years, with very little information being made available to the FTC on such acquisitions. The investigation may help the FTC better understand how tech companies are employing newly acquired resources, and help it alter regulations to reduce anticompetitive behavior better. The rate at which major tech companies acquire smaller companies has been a reason for concern and has contributed to the calls by regulators to reign in tech giants. Congressional probes and state-level probes by attorneys general into the practices of tech companies have been common as regulators look into potential abuses of the considerable power tech companies hold. The FTC's investigation, and any potential actions it takes, could finally address these concerns and help regulators better reign in the behavior of tech giants.

The investigation may provide a framework for the FTC to regulate tech companies better and tighten regulations regarding mergers and acquisitions; the FTC has already stated that it intends to use the information uncovered in the investigation to better shape its policies. If the investigation uncovers abuses of mergers and acquisitions by tech companies, it is very likely that the FTC may institute more stringent rules, requiring smaller acquisitions to be reported. The FTC has also not ruled out the possibility of retroactively acting against certain acquisitions that it finds may be questionable after their investigation.