State antitrust probes of Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Facebook Inc. could strain the budgets of attorneys general already handling expansive and time-intensive opioid and generic drug price-fixing suits.
Dozens of state attorneys general have banded together to probe whether the tech giants have used anti-competitive tactics, such as buying out potential rivals, in order to cement their market strongholds. The size of the targets means even the biggest bipartisan multi-state effort could feel the pinch, current and former state attorneys general say.
“We have an antitrust section and some of the best people in public service on our staff, but ...