The United States is fighting the influence of IT corporations in the courts. Analysis

The US authorities have launched a campaign against the largest digital corporations. The courts are considering several lawsuits, as a result of which Google has already been recognized as a monopolist and may now lose the Chrome web browser and the Android operating system. Why the White House wants to restrict IT giants is in the Izvestia article.

Google was recognized as a violator

• In August 2024, the District of Columbia Court, in a lawsuit filed by the US Department of Justice, recognized that Google, valued at $1.81 trillion, occupies a dominant position in the online search segment, and called the company an antitrust violator.

• The lawsuit is based on Google's deals with Apple, Mozilla, and Samsung. The companies have agreed that, for a fee, the Google search engine will automatically appear in web browsers and in smartphone browsers. In 2021, Google paid Apple and Samsung $26.3 billion under similar contracts.

• The US authorities were unhappy that such agreements helped the Google search engine attract more users and thus improve its tools. Google says that they choose their search engine because it is better than its competitors.: Microsoft Bing and DuckDuckGo.

How to eliminate violations

• Hearings are currently taking place in an American court, where ways to eliminate violations are being discussed. There, the plaintiff's representatives demanded the sale of Chrome. The Ministry of Justice also believes that Google should help restore competition in the online search market and stop paying companies to provide the search engine with a leading position. The US authorities are also asking for the right to force Google to sell Android if other measures do not work.

• Google's legal team, for its part, suggests still focusing on the deals that were originally discussed — Apple, Mozilla, Samsung and changing their terms. The company also said that the government is playing into the hands of competitors who want to gain access to Google's trade secrets and innovations, as the corporation increasingly uses artificial intelligence in its search engine and competes in its application with OpenAI, Microsoft and Meta* (the organization is recognized as extremist and banned in Russia).

• In this regard, the Ministry of Justice was concerned that Google could take a dominant position not only in relation to search engines, but also in the segment of artificial intelligence, and asked the judge to think about this too — for the future.

Shake up BigTech

• The outcome of the U.S. v. Google case could dramatically change the roles of leading players in Silicon Valley. Another judge recognized Google as a monopolist in a case related to advertising technologies. And in 2023, Google lost an antitrust lawsuit filed by the maker of the Fortnite video game. He accused the giant of violating competition laws due to restrictions related to downloading apps through Google Play.

• According to experts, the actions of the US Department of Justice signal that the current US administration plans to control the technology industry. By the way, the case concerning the Google search engine was initiated back in 2020, during the first presidency of Donald Trump.

• Now Apple, Meta*, and Amazon have to deal with antitrust lawsuits from the government. To the founder of Meta* Mark Zuckerberg had to defend his company in court, which bought Instagram and WhatsApp more than 10 years ago. According to the US Federal Trade Commission, this was done so that they could not compete with Facebook (owned by Meta, which is recognized as extremist and banned in the Russian Federation).

• This case poses a threat to Meta*, as, according to some estimates, the company receives about half of its advertising revenue in the United States from Instagram. And if Zuckerberg loses the trial, he may have to get rid of Instagram and WhatsApp, which generate significant revenue.

Why would the US authorities do that?

• The current campaign against digital giants is building a new hierarchy of governance within the American business community. Traditionally, digital companies have supported the Democratic Party and have been a powerful tool for influencing the electorate, given their transmedia capabilities and the ability to manipulate people's opinions. In the last electoral cycle, digital corporations caught on to trends and sided either with US President Donald Trump or neutrally. However, the fallout from the last election, when Democrats Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden enjoyed support, remains with the current administration.

• Right now, Trump's strategic goal is to remind corporations that they are American companies that must follow American interests. Their interaction with the government should become clear and transparent. To achieve this, Trump resorts to legal pressure. Last but not least, the personal factor plays a role — the current US president has an ambiguous history of relations with the head of Meta.* By Zuckerberg.

• At the same time, it is worth noting that what is happening is not the whim of the White House alone. There is a consensus in Washington between Democrats and Republicans that something needs to be done with large IT corporations to curb their influence. This can be achieved by dividing companies into smaller ones, which at least will prevent their excessive growth. An attempt by corporate heads to mend relations with donations for the inauguration and promises to ease censorship against the right failed, as Trump needed more than a beautiful ceremony.

What is the White House trying to achieve

• The Trump administration does not aim to completely destroy digital corporations, divide them, close the Chrome browser, or deprive the Android operating system of its customer base. However, the White House wants Silicon Valley to be integrated into its policy in the coming years. By their very nature, digital companies tend to globalize and are not tied to national entities. Trump sees this as a departure from the pro-American order, which he is trying to prevent.

• An example for Trump is manufacturing companies that build hierarchies and do not form horizontal networks. The US president provides them with all possible support, for which he began a trade war with almost all countries of the world. In order for real sectors to receive an impetus to development, Trump wants the digital economy to help them, and for this it must work according to mechanisms he understands and follow time-tested management principles. The harmonious combination of manufacturing and digital technologies is the ideal economic model that Trump has defined for himself.

• Trump leaves digital companies with room for compromise and agreement, which is his signature style of political behavior. Information and digital companies should understand this, so that, having assessed the possible losses for themselves in the event of continued pressure, they will be quite accommodating and avoid a blow. Thus, they will have freedom of action, but within the limits that the Trump administration outlines.

When writing the material, Izvestia interviewed:

• Natalia Karpova, Associate Professor at the Faculty of World Economy and World Politics, Department of World Economy, National Research University Higher School of Economics;
• American political scientist Malek Dudakov.