Launched under both the Trump and Biden administrations, five major antitrust cases from the Federal Trade Commission and the US Department of Justice are proceeding against major American technology companies.
These cases represent a significant shift in antitrust enforcement in the United States, with regulators taking a more aggressive approach toward big tech companies after a relatively quiet period in antitrust prosecution since the Microsoft case in the late 1990s.
– Google Search –
The DOJ’s case against Google regarding its dominance of internet search was filed in 2020.
In August 2024, Judge Amit Mehta ruled that Google maintained an illegal monopoly in online search, marking a landmark decision.
The US government asked that the Chrome browser be spun off from Google, and for an end to the tens of billions of dollars Google pays to Apple annually to secure its default position on the iPhone’s Safari browser.
But on Tuesday the judge ruled against these draconian demands, instead imposing data sharing agreements on Google as a way to rein in the company’s dominance.
As with all these cases, an appeal potentially reaching the US Supreme Court is almost certain, extending legal proceedings for years.
