How big is too big? And when does a company become so big that the government is forced to step in and make it smaller? Politicians have been struggling with those questions for at least a hundred years. But as the latest generation of tech companies has taken shape, the questions are becoming more and more relevant to internet giants like Google and Facebook. There’s a new movement in Washington to break up those companies, whether through a Justice Department lawsuit or an old-school appeal to the Sherman Antitrust Act. It’s a struggle Microsoft fended off in the ‘90s, and it has only grown more urgent in the years since. As Amazon has taken a stranglehold of online retail, Jeff Bezos’ company has started to attract antitrust attention as well, with figures like Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Lina Khan taking aim at Amazon’s cutthroat competitive strategies. If it succeeds, it would be one of the most ambitious government projects in a generation — but success is still a long way off.
Mark Meador, a former staffer for Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), was confirmed to the Federal Trade Commission. He’ll join Republican Chair Andrew Ferguson and Republican commissioner Melissa Holyoak. Meanwhile, the two Democrats President Donald Trump attempted to fire from the commission are fighting for their jobs back. Under the law, no more than three commissioners can be from a single party.
The Alphabet Workers Union’s announcement of the agreement follows an unfair labor practice charge it filed last year over Google restraining employees from discussing the trial. The company is due in court this month for the remedy phase, which could see it being forced to sell Chrome.
...it is essential that workers are able to discuss these impacts, participate in the deliberations, and, if they choose, bargain collectively around the implementation of any eventual remedy.
[alphabetworkersunion.org]
Things are about to get even more turbulent for the tech industry.
FTC staffers have continued to work on the investigation in recent weeks according to Bloomberg, a sign that Trump-appointed FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson is going to prioritize scrutiny of tech giants.
The probe, launched under Biden in November, is looking into Microsoft’s AI projects (including its partnership with OpenAI), cloud and software licensing business, and cybersecurity services. These investigations can take years to conclude, giving Microsoft plenty of opportunities to kick up a stink about it.
[bloomberg.com]
That’s one of the minor changes the Justice Department made to its proposed final judgement in its antitrust case. The DOJ Antitrust Division is still operating under an acting chief as President Donald Trump’s nominee Gail Slater awaits confirmation. But so far, the government made only small tweaks to its asks based on discovery. It’s no longer asking that Google divest AI investments, for example, but that it give a heads up on future ones.
[storage.courtlistener.com]
The DOJ sees the proposed acquisition of AI-native network company Juniper Networks as a way for HPE to scoop up a “smaller, innovative rival,” and further consolidate a market in enterprise networking. The companies called the DOJ’s assessment “fundamentally flawed” in a joint statement, and promised to defend the deal.
[justice.gov]
The Federal Trade Commission and Justice Department didn’t take a position on the appropriate outcome, but write in a statement of interest that holding a seat on two competing boards can violate antitrust law — even if the board member foregoes one. At issue is Reid Hoffman’s simultaneous participation on the OpenAI and Microsoft boards.
The Japan Fair Trade Commission is expected to announce that Google’s preferential Search deals with smartphone makers are anticompetitive, reports Nikkei Asia.
Like in the US, Google will get to weigh in after the JFTC releases its verdict. The regulator will “notify Google of the draft of its order, hear the company’s opinion and make a final decision,” writes Nikkei.
President-elect Donald Trump’s second term is a regulatory wild card hanging over Big Tech.
Kanter says he’ll step down on Friday, as the incoming Trump administration prepares to take over and confirm new leadership. His principal deputy Doha Mekki will take over in the meantime. Kanter highlighted the division’s accomplishments during his tenure, including winning an anti-monopoly suit against Google, and building out a litigation program to take strong cases to court.
Selling Chrome might not be the most painful part of the DOJ’s antitrust demands for Google.
Filed in 2020, the FTC’s antitrust case against Meta accuses the social networking giant of stifling competition through its acquisition of WhatsApp and Instagram. The trial will take place on April 14th — just days before a judge will hear the proposed remedies in Google’s antitrust case.
An onslaught of antitrust lawsuits could drastically change what Google looks like and how it operates — even if they don’t succeed.
Alphabet’s top lawyer says the agency’s proposed remedies, which include selling off Chrome, are part of “a radical interventionist agenda that would harm Americans and America’s global technology leadership.”
If adopted, Kent Walker says the security and privacy “of millions of Americans” would be endangered, trade secrets would be sent to foreign companies, AI progress and innovation would be stymied, and the world as we know it would basically end.
Rumble, the YouTube rival popular with the right for its anti-”cancel culture” approach, is “very interested in acquiring Google Chrome,” CEO Chris Pavlovski says. He was responding to a Bloomberg report that the government is planning to ask a court to require Google to sell the browser as part of the antitrust case against its search business. Rumble notably brought its own antitrust suit against Google years ago.
