AT&T Antitrust Fight Gives Lawmakers Road Map to Rein in Big Tech

To curb the power of Big Tech, lawmakers are eyeing a world where Facebook users could communicate seamlessly with users of rival platforms like Twitter—similar to the way phone networks function today.

That concept, known as interoperability, was employed by Congress after the breakup of the AT&T telephone monopoly in the 1980s, allowing customers of competing phone companies to call each other without restrictions.

As the House and Senate lay the groundwork for an overhaul of antitrust law, lawmakers are dusting off the decades-old concept of interoperability as a possible solution to rein in Facebook Inc., Alphabet Inc.'s Google ...