["One Sees His Finish Unless Good Government Take the Ship," by C. Gordan Moffat, published by The Verdict on 05/22/1899; image used in accordance with fair use.]
The Sherman Anti-Trust Act empowers the Federal Government to fine and break up companies into smaller parts if they are found to be guilty of "anti-competitive activities." This act has always been a controversial one - especially in libertarian circles - as it gives the government rather broad and arbitrary powers. It can be argued that it is an inherently immoral act, since, if there is no underlying crime other than being too big in the opinion of the government, how can you say that it is just for the government to arbitrarily cut you down to size? That seems to fly in the face of natural rights thinking, and it certainly opens up the possibility of conflict of interest, if the government is doing it specifically in order to favor another company who may be, say, lobbying it a little more emphatically.
But what if certain portions of the government, say, the "deep state," are already in bed in with these corporations, and are using them to undermine constitutional rights by cornering the modern agora, and thus curtailing free speech from behind a "private" face? Wouldn't the executive branch then, in the interests of preserving individual freedom, be justified to exercise anti-trust powers, if doing so would stymie that attempt?
Do you think that the deep state influences Google and Facebook, and, in what cases, if any, might the use of anti-trust be justified to curtail the power of companies like Google and Facebook?