Donald Trump has slapped down European tech rules and promised to slash regulation at home. But his administration is still pushing to break up America’s biggest companies.
Washington continues to pursue cases aimed at curbing the market power of Google, Apple, Amazon and Meta. The department of justice showed no signs of relenting after a federal judge on Tuesday rejected its request to break up Google in the most high-profile monopoly case in a quarter century.
“We’re not done,” said Gail Slater, the Irish-born head of the DoJ’s antitrust division, which originally brought the Google case during the president’s first term. “This case is historic.”
Mr Trump nominated Ms Slater in December with a mandate to go after Big Tech, a sector he said “has run wild for years, stifling competition in our most innovative sector”.
READ MORE
Vice-president JD Vance last year told the Financial Times that Google should be broken up.
The administration’s stance marks a rare area of continuity with Mr Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden, who also aggressively pursued antitrust enforcement.
“That’s what we’ve seen so far,” said Nicholas Rodelli, an analyst at investment research group Washington Analysis. “Some of these cases were brought under the first Trump administration, or were already in the works then.”
Tuesday’s decision followed a landmark ruling last year that Google operated an illegal monopoly in online search. The DoJ sought to break up Google by forcing the sale of its Chrome browser – and wipe out the multibillion-dollar contracts it strikes with partners such as Apple to promote its search engine.
But in a decision on the so-called remedies for Google’s monopoly, Judge Amit Mehta took a less stringent approach – barring Google from entering into exclusive distribution deals and mandating greater sharing of search data.
The outcome was cheered on Wall Street, as it fell far short of a worst-case scenario for the tech giant.
[ Google will not be forced to sell Chrome, federal judge rulesOpens in new window ]
[ US set to seek Google divestitures in search monopoly caseOpens in new window ]
But the Trump administration’s dogged pursuit of these cases has punctured optimism that the president would shift tack in his second term.
Tech bosses including Google’s Sundar Pichai, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg have courted Mr Trump, and lined up to donate to his inauguration in January.
A charm offensive by Apple’s Tim Cook culminated last month in a meeting at the Oval Office, where Mr Trump promised tariff relief for Apple as Cook announced an additional $100 billion (€85.8 million) investment in the US.
Why are some independent Irish breweries turning off their taps and closing?
Yet Apple continues to face a DoJ antitrust lawsuit accusing it of abusing a smartphone monopoly.
Tough antitrust enforcement against Big Tech comes as the administration pursues a deregulation drive, arguing that excessive rule making stifles business.
“There’s a real tension between saying ‘we’re going to continue to be tough ... but we don’t want to impose undue burdens upon you’,” said Bill Kovacic, former chairman of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
The White House is fighting regulation even beyond the US’s borders, clashing with the EU over digital rules affecting US tech companies.
Mr Trump last week threatened tariffs and export controls on countries whose taxes or restrictions on tech companies “discriminate” against the US. During recent trade talks, the US also attacked the EU’s Digital Services Act, which forces big tech companies to police their platforms more aggressively.
Andrew Ferguson, Mr Trump’s FTC chair, earlier this year chided “Brussels bureaucrats” over the bloc’s digital rules.
Mr Kovacic said the Trump administration has clearly signalled it does not want foreign regulators touching US companies. “If there’s a punishment to be doled out, we’ll do it. You don’t do it,” he said of the approach.
The president’s defence of US tech companies overseas stands at odds with backing for tough antitrust action at home. It comes as he has pursued an unusually interventionist approach to the US economy, striking individual deals with companies in exchange for commitments to further his agenda.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
US antitrust officials have said their enforcement decisions will not be political. But Daniel Newman, chief executive of the Futurum Group, a research company, said: “It’s absolutely possible that the Trump administration sees these cases as leverage in its broader policy agenda.”
Mr Trump’s antitrust position also reflects a new generation of populist Republicans who believe enforcement against Big Tech’s dominance is necessary to counter its alleged censorship of conservative voices.
The sector has used “its market power to crack down on the rights of so many Americans”, Mr Trump said in December. In February, he criticised Apple over its diversity policies. Google scrapped diversity hiring targets around the same time.
Mr Trump’s policymaking has proved volatile, and the administration could still change course. Choosing not to appeal against the decision in the Google search case could signal a new approach, even as Google itself threatens to appeal the case to the supreme court.
For now, however, Big Tech groups face a daunting series of court dates.
Google is still facing a second antitrust lawsuit, with a judge earlier this year ruling that it illegally acquired and maintained a monopoly in digital advertising. Prosecutors will seek divestments of crucial parts of Google’s online advertising business in the trial’s second phase at a Virginia court later this month.
[ Google ‘wilfully’ monopolised online advertising market, US judge rulesOpens in new window ]
The FTC earlier this year forged ahead with an antitrust trial accusing Meta of retaining an illegal monopoly – despite Mr Zuckerberg seeking to negotiate a settlement. Meta is awaiting a judgment from the trial’s first phase.
The competition agency also doubled down in a case challenging Amazon’s Prime service. Earlier this year, the FTC chairman quashed concerns from one of his own lawyers that the trial should be delayed due to resource constraints.
“I have made it clear since day one that we will commit the resources necessary for this case,” Mr Ferguson said. “The Trump-Vance FTC will never back down from taking on Big Tech.”
At the DoJ, Ms Slater is also showing no signs of relenting. “The United States will not tolerate the abuse of power by digital monopolies,” she wrote on Tuesday. “Markets should be free, not manipulated or regulated by digital tyrants.” – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2025
