“Anytime you have a very solid position with a dominant player, it really quells innovation and quells enrichments, and you end up with a zero-sum game,” he said. That’s because once a company has a dominant position that can’t be challenged, there is little accountability for product and/or service quality, so “companies simply test the bounds of tolerance” with their customers, Shimmin said.

Power corrupts; regulation corrects

While Trump might favor ensuring Google plays fair instead of breaking up the company, according to his comments reported by the Times, this may not be enough to encourage fair competition, noted another industry expert.

“The fundamental problem with big tech is the economic perversities of monopoly power,” said John Bambenek, president at Bambenek Consulting. “Sure, regulation can help, but if the problem is too extreme, splitting companies up is the only solution to maintain viable capitalism.”