The antitrust hearing on Capitol Hill this week was about Live Nation, not Big Tech, but it likely will add momentum to efforts to clamp down on the power of tech giants, legal experts say.

"The hearing has the effect of providing encouragement to the Department of Justice to do something," said William Kovacic, a professor at the George Washington University Law School who served as chairman of the FTC from 2008 to 2009.  "And it's that kind of event that tends to engage legislators."

Big Tech entered 2023 with plenty to fret about on the antitrust front but also with some lobbying successes under its belt. On the one hand, federal agencies under Democratic Joe Biden are taking a jarringly hard line on what deals pass antitrust muster. For example, the FTC sued last month seeking to block a relatively small deal, Meta's $400 million purchase of the virtual reality company Within Unlimited.