The U.S. Justice Department is investigating the recruiting practices at the country’s largest technology companies to determine whether they violated certain antitrust laws. According to the New York Times, the investigation includes Silicon Valley stalwarts Google, Yahoo, Apple, and many others.
Sources within the Justice Department say that the investigation centers around whether these tech companies made agreements not to actively recruit employees from one another. The regulator has issued formal requests for key documents and information relating to the potential antitrust violations.
The investigation is in an early stage, according to sources, and an example of the current administration’s prioritizing of antitrust concerns. Obama’s assistant attorney general, Christine Varney, issued a speech last month that effectively reversed the Bush administration’s lenient policies towards antitrust laws.
“As antitrust enforcers, we cannot sit on the sidelines any longer, both in terms of enforcing the antitrust laws and contribution to sound competition policy as part of our nation’s economic strategy,” said Varney.