Google and Apple accused of unfair practices by EU Regulators
The antitrust frenzy across the globe has hit Apple and Google yet again, this time in the European Union on Wednesday. Apple is accused on two charges of breaching EU rules. Google has been accused of self-preferencing their search results. They face scrutiny in the new Trump Administration, given antitrust hawks such as Vice President Vance, FTC Chairman Ferguson, and Gail Slater, the head of the Antitrust Division at DOJ.
During the first Trump Administration, his Justice Department sued Google for violating antitrust laws, particularly with search and search advertising. This came on the heels of 50 state attorneys general suing Google over anticompetitive practices. Around the same time period, the House and Senate Judiciary Committees pushed through sweeping antitrust reform packages in a bipartisan fashion, including legislation led by Senator Chuck Grassley which mirrored this EU law.
Last year, Andrew N. Ferguson, the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, told the reporter that America should be leading on antitrust and not outsourcing to Europe. And a senior executive at a tech company tells the reporter, “What the EU is doing is good for every American tech firm except a handful of monopolists who have tried to take over the whole internet. This constrains Americans' ability to speak freely and engage in commerce online. The law in the EU is just like the pieces of legislation that had substantial bipartisan support and passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2022, but never made it to the floor because Democratic leadership would not allow a vote. The EU aligns with where conservatives are coming from and aligns with antitrust reforms by the first Trump Administration.”
The EU faces possible criticism from President Trump, who has been critical of Europe over lack of NATO funding, tariffs, and regulation of American companies. One Trump ally tells us he expects Trump will lead on competition issues given his appointments and past focus on antitrust reform.
