2024: The Year the DOJ Cracked Google

The antitrust wheel managed a few rotations this year. 

In August, a federal judge ruled in favor of the Department of Justice in its case against Google’s search business. The judge decided that the DOJ’s argument that Google had illegally struck deals to cement the dominance of its search product was correct. The big question now is what happens next, as the DOJ is pushing for Google to divest its Chrome browser. Plus, Google’s search business was just first on the docket…

Search Warrants

The DOJ’s case against Google goes back to 2020 when, if you cast your mind back, you’ll recall an ensemble cast of Silicon Valley CEOs including Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, and Sundar Pichai were hauled in front of Congress to answer a raft of questions about their businesses. This ruling in favor of the DOJ is the first bit of domestic antitrust enforcement to come out of that CEO grilling, but it won’t be the last. Google has to go another round with the DOJ over its ad tech business. 

But Google isn’t the only Big Tech company with a severe antitrust headache. Here are a few to watch:

• The DOJ brought a case against Apple in March saying the company illegally dominates the smartphone market. “Apple undermines apps, products, and services that would otherwise make users less reliant on the iPhone, promote interoperability, and lower costs for consumers and developers,” the DOJ said in a statement.
• The Federal Trade Commission is still pressing ahead with a case it brought against Amazon Marketplace in 2023. Amazon tried to get the case dismissed this year, but a judge ruled it can proceed.

The Trump Card: It looks like President-elect Trump isn’t going to change tack on the Big Tech crackdown when he takes office next month. He picked Silicon Valley hawk Brendan Carr to head up the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which could indicate a degree of frostiness, plus he selected Gail Slater, an old economic adviser to JD Vance — who’s argued in favor of broader antitrust measures against Big Tech — to be head of antitrust at the DOJ. Whichever way the wind blows, tech billionaires were quick to mobilize post-election. Zuckerberg reportedly had lunch with Trump, and Bezos said at the New York Times Dealbook summit that he wants to help Trump reduce regulation. Sorry guys, the post of Trump’s best tech-bro buddy is already taken. For now, anyway.