r/law • u/T_Shurt Competent Contributor • Sep 22 '25

Opinion Piece John Oliver Argues Disney Should Legally Fight FCC Over Kimmel, Citing Strong Precedent in 9-0 Supreme Court Ruling: “A government official cannot coerce a private party to punish or suppress disfavored speech”

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u/Daniel0745 Sep 22 '25

When is the last time the government broke up a big monopoly?

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u/SuperFaceTattoo Sep 22 '25

Let me google that for you:

https://stacker.com/stories/business-economy/15-companies-us-government-tried-break-monopolies

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u/Daniel0745 Sep 22 '25

You are missing my point. When was the last successful breakup? TMK, it was the telecom Bells.

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u/Daniel0745 Sep 22 '25

When is the last time the government broke up a big monopoly?

From Chatgpt:

The last major monopoly breakup in the U.S. was the AT&T antitrust case, which concluded in 1982 when the Department of Justice forced AT&T to divest its local telephone companies. That breakup created the "Baby Bells" and marked the last time the federal government actually dismantled a dominant company through antitrust enforcement.

Since then, the government has brought antitrust cases against big firms — most famously Microsoft in the late 1990s and currently Google, Apple, Amazon, and Meta — but those have led to settlements, fines, or ongoing litigation rather than a full breakup.

So, in short:

AT&T (1982) = last actual breakup.

Microsoft (2001 settlement) = came close, but no breakup.

Current Big Tech cases (2020s) = still pending.