Lawsuits This Month... Interpretation of Pro-Democratic Party Companies Taking the Lead
Concerns Over Expansion to Facebook, Amazon, and Others
▲William Barr, Attorney General (left), and President Donald Trump (right). [Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]
[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] The U.S. Department of Justice has drawn its antitrust sword against Google and its parent company Alphabet. The move targets Google's anti-competitive business practices, and it is widely analyzed that the Trump administration, which harbors deep resentment toward Silicon Valley companies with a pro-Democratic Party stance, is taking the initiative ahead of the presidential election. There are also concerns that this lawsuit could expand to encompass IT companies such as Facebook and Amazon in the future.
On the 3rd (local time), The New York Times (NYT), citing multiple sources, reported that the Department of Justice instructed lawyers investigating antitrust issues related to Google and Alphabet to complete their work by this month. The antitrust lawsuit against Google and Alphabet covers a vast scope and is considered a matter where it is difficult to obtain concrete and definitive evidence, raising concerns about the tight timeline. In this regard, about 40 lawyers in charge requested additional preparation time from the Department of Justice, but it was reported that the DOJ rejected the request.
Because of this, there is an interpretation that the DOJ hastily filed the lawsuit, and that Attorney General William Barr, known as a close aide to President Donald Trump, intends to push this issue to litigation within the Trump administration's term. Last month, in an interview with a media outlet, Barr stated, "The investigation related to Google's antitrust lawsuit is progressing at a satisfactory pace," and added, "A decision will be made around the end of this summer."
The White House's stance also appears to have supported Barr's aggressive litigation. President Trump has openly expressed resentment toward Silicon Valley IT companies, traditionally aligned with the Democratic Party, citing reasons such as Google and other IT giants allegedly suppressing conservative opinions online.
The DOJ is tightening the reins on the antitrust investigation of Google due to its status and influence in the online market. Google holds over 90% of the global search market. It has been criticized for undermining fair market competition by acquiring potential competitors at low prices and solidifying its dominant position in the online advertising market by providing targeted ads using user information collected through YouTube and Google Search.
All 50 states in the U.S. are investigating whether Google has violated antitrust laws in its advertising business. This is considered the largest antitrust case since the 1990s when the DOJ, along with about 20 state attorneys general, sued Microsoft (MS).
Bloomberg News suggested that "the renewed focus on antitrust will not stop with Google," indicating that it could spread across the entire IT industry.
There is also the possibility of antitrust lawsuits against Amazon and Facebook. In February, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requested Amazon, Apple, Facebook, MS, and Alphabet to submit merger and acquisition-related documents from the past decade. In July, Republican lawmakers held a hearing summoning the CEOs of the four major companies?Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Apple?to address antitrust issues. As the influence of Silicon Valley IT giants has grown larger than ever, they have become direct targets of the Trump administration.
On the same day, Facebook announced a measure to ban new political ads for one week before the November election. This is because there is not enough time to thoroughly review and debate new claims during the final week of the campaign. Until now, Facebook had avoided Trump administration regulations by arguing that private companies should not have the authority to censor politicians, but as various regulations on IT companies continue, it has taken a tougher stance.
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, said, "This election will not be like any other," adding, "We all have a responsibility to protect democracy."
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