Why Trump Likely Won't Interfere In Google's Antitrust Case

Forbes

Trump’s re-election may be an overall boon to Silicon Valley giants wary of aggressive competition enforcement. But he may have a more hands-off approach with Google’s legal battle, already years in progress.  Read the full story on Forbes:  https://www.forbes.com/sites/richardnieva/2024/11/12/google-trump-antitrust/  Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1  Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:  https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript  Stay Connected Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes:  http://forbes.com  Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.

Transcript

00:00Today on Forbes, Google is on the antitrust chopping block, and Trump probably won't save it.

00:08In 2020, then-President Donald Trump made history when his Justice Department filed a landmark antitrust lawsuit against Google,

00:16alleging the tech giant held an illegal monopoly in the online search market.

00:21It was the first major competition case of the Internet era.

00:25Now, as Trump returns to power, there has been optimism in Silicon Valley that his administration would take a softer line with tech competition,

00:34after years of aggressive enforcement in the Biden era.

00:37But antitrust experts told Forbes that while Trump may generally loosen the federal government's grip regarding tech antitrust,

00:44it may do little to help Google.

00:47William Kovacic, a former FTC chairman and now a law professor at George Washington University, told Forbes,

00:54Google can't derive much comfort from the election results. I think those federal efforts would carry on.

01:00George Hay, an antitrust professor at Cornell Law School, argued similarly that it's unlikely for Trump to pull the plug,

01:08especially since his administration was the one to first bring the case.

01:12Hay said, quote,

01:16Google declined to comment for this story.

01:19The tech giant's search monopoly case went to trial last year.

01:22During proceedings, the federal government argued that Google signed illegal contracts with device makers to force Google products onto consumers.

01:31The cornerstone of the DOJ's case was an agreement with Apple worth tens of billions of dollars

01:36that made Google the default search engine on iPhones and other Apple products.

01:41Google has said its dominant position comes from the quality of its products,

01:45arguing it gives consumers easy options to change their defaults.

01:50In October, a federal judge ruled against Google, triggering a second trial to determine potential remedies,

01:56like banning those types of contracts or, on the extreme end, breaking up the company.

02:02That trial is slated to begin in April.

02:04Google has said the government's initial potential requests, filed last month, quote,

02:10As president, Trump will have the authority to direct the DOJ, via his nominee if confirmed for attorney general,

02:18Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida, to stand down on cases like Google's if Trump chooses,

02:24or suggest what he sees as appropriate punishment.

02:27But according to Kovacic, asking the DOJ to back off would be an extremely rare move with huge political implications,

02:34one which many presidents would be unwilling to make because it would undermine their antitrust officials.

02:40One of the only examples of the federal government dropping an antitrust case came in 1982,

02:46when the DOJ ended a 13-year-long case against IBM that called for a breakup

02:51because the government's case was, quote,

02:54and had little chance of winning, the agency said at the time.

02:58Even Trump, who regularly breaks precedent, might be unwilling to step in

03:02because of his personal frustrations with Google, said Kovacic.

03:06In September, Trump said he would prosecute the company for, quote,

03:10only showing, quote,

03:14and positive ones about his election opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris.

03:18The complaints followed a familiar refrain from conservatives

03:22that has for years falsely claimed big tech censors' voices on the right.

03:26However, at an Economic Club of Chicago event in October,

03:30Trump suggested he was skeptical that a breakup of the tech giant would be the right move,

03:34wondering if it would, quote,

03:40He said, quote,

03:42What you can do without breaking it up is make sure it's more fair.

03:46The questions over Trump's antitrust approach come as he has stormed back to the White House

03:51with ample support from Silicon Valley, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk

03:56and Andreessen Horowitz founder Mark Andreessen.

03:59Even big tech leaders who were critical of Trump in the past

04:02have made subtle overtures this time around.

04:04Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg called him a, quote,

04:08after Trump survived an attempted assassination in July.

04:11Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who owns The Washington Post,

04:15stopped the newspaper from endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris

04:18in what was seen by some as an attempt to avoid retribution by Trump.

04:24For full coverage, check out Richard Nieva's piece on Forbes.com.

04:29This is Kieran Meadows from Forbes. Thanks for tuning in.

04:37.

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