What Does the DOJ's Antitrust Lawsuit Against Google Mean for Big Tech?

On Tuesday, the Department of Justice’s antitrust case against Google is set to begin. It is the first antitrust case against a technology company brought to trial since Microsoft in 1998.

The Allegations: According to a Reuters (Center bias) analysis, the Justice Department is arguing that Google unlawfully stifled competition by paying other technology companies — such as Apple — to make Google the default browser on these companies’ devices. Google denies the antitrust allegations, arguing that the agreements were “legitimate competition” and that consumers retained the option to switch to alternative browsers.

What Does It Mean For Big Tech? An analysis in The Atlantic (Left bias) determined that the case represents a shifting attitude in Washington toward major technology companies, which have enjoyed a “freewheeling heyday” for the past few decades. The article states the changing stance on tech companies is not exclusive to one party, writing, “Republicans and Democrats alike are now interested in bringing Big Tech down a notch.”

The Judge: The Washington Examiner (Lean Right bias) profiled the judge overseeing the antitrust case. Judge Amit Mehta was appointed to the court in 2014 by President Obama. His decisions during this trial “may be integral to what happens to the world's largest search engine.” In August, Mehta narrowed the scope of the lawsuit, stating that a “dominant firm like Google does not violate the law, however, merely because it occupies a monopoly market position. It must act in a manner that produces anticompetitive effects in the defined markets.”