Amazon is everywhere. Here's how the US could break it up

On any given day, you might receive a package you ordered from Amazon, log onto a website hosted by Amazon, ask an Amazon device about the weather and grab groceries at a Whole Foods owned by Amazon. Amazon is more than just the "everything store." It's become something of an "everything company" that touches nearly every corner of our lives and the economy.

That growing reach — and, in some cases, dominance — has increasingly made Amazon, like its Big Tech peers, a target for regulators and lawmakers. But its vast size and impact also creates a challenge for regulators who want to rein in or break up the company without harming the consumers and businesses that rely on it. Last month, a bipartisan group of US House lawmakers introduced a slate of bills aimed at addressing the power of dominant tech firms — namely, Facebook (FB), Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL) and Google (GOOGL GOOGLE). Each of these companies has been accused by regulators in the United States and Europe of engaging in anticompetitive practices, and the proposed US legislation could help pave the way for one or more of them to be broken up, among other possible remedies.