Biden’s DOJ wants to break up Google, here’s where Trump stands
The U.S. government under President Joe Biden wants to break up Google. But will the same hold true when the White House changes hands in January?
Back in August, a federal judge ruled Google illegally maintained a monopoly in internet search. This gave the Department of Justice a major antitrust victory in a case that actually started during the first Trump administration.
Now, the Biden DOJ says competition cannot be restored unless Google is forced to sell off Chrome, its dominant web browser. Judge Amit Mehta set a two-week hearing on remedies for April 2025, when President-elect Donald Trump will be back in charge of the DOJ.
“The new administration could come forward and say, ‘We mentioned a breakup – we don’t have the enthusiasm for it that we did before. Of course, Judge, if you thought it was appropriate, that’s your call, it’s not ours; you are ultimately the decision maker about remedy. But our view is that it’s no longer required and we’re not asking for it,’” former FTC Chair Bill Kovacic proposed as one possibility in an interview with SAN.
While Trump is no fan of Big Tech or Google, he has so far sidestepped calling for a breakup. In an interview with Bloomberg, Trump said Google was “rigged” but stopped short of saying he’d break them up.
“He said that he might not be fond of a breakup, that Google’s an important company, don’t want to injure them in some way,” Kovacic said.
However, he pointed out that prominent figures in Trump’s campaign, including his running mate, JD Vance, have made comments in support of breaking up Google.
“It seems within the upper echelon of the Trump brain trust that there’s a lot of enthusiasm for going through with the structural remedy,” Kovacic said.
Google said it is appealing the August ruling.
“The DOJ continues to push a radical agenda that goes far beyond the legal issues in this case,” Google’s Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Lee-Anne Mulholland told SAN in a statement. “The government putting its thumb on the scale in these ways would harm consumers, developers and American technological leadership at precisely the moment it is most needed.”
“We haven’t had something like this in ages, that is, to have the elaborate discussion of what antitrust law should do after a finding of liability in this kind of setting,” Kovacic said, “Google has the opportunity to come forward and say, ‘You wanted an extraordinary form of intervention. We have something that is much better, equally effective and not as disruptive.’”
In other words, while Google is appealing the monopoly ruling, it can still suggest less extreme remedies as the case proceeds.
The last time antitrust officials tried to break up a Big Tech company of this magnitude was Microsoft in the late ’90s and early 2000s. In the end, through a convoluted appeals process, the DOJ eventually backed off its call to break up Microsoft and settled for a lesser antitrust penalty.
“A big part of the task of the Justice Department in the coming months, if they want a breakup, is to give the judge assurances that it’s worth doing,” Kovacic said. “A number of judges in the past have said, ‘I’m a single unelected official bearing the burden of determining the future of an important sector. That makes me nervous. I’m willing to travel the path that the government suggests, but I want assurances that it is the right path.’”
News behind paywalls: People reject it, media depend on it in digital shift
A revolution appears to be unfolding in the news industry, driven by a mix of mistrust, a decline in traditional TV viewership and revenue, and a world increasingly plugged into phones rather than televisions. As a result, news companies are shifting strategies and targeting the digital news consumer.
However, the news business model is still struggling to find a way to generate revenue in this new landscape. Many media groups are transitioning from TV advertising to online paywalls.
A recent survey found that only 12% of voters have paid to subscribe to at least one news source. Despite this low number of paid subscribers, several prominent news outlets are betting on that figure growing.
In its announcement, CNN acknowledged the challenge of shifting from cable TV to digital revenue, noting, “For brands like CNN that make most of their money from cable television, the challenge is clear: to develop new digital revenue streams that can offset declines in legacy TV.”
Reuters followed, activating its paywall last month. The company stated, “This new subscription plan ensures Reuters can expand the reach of its award-winning coverage at an affordable price, while allowing us to further invest in our reporting and products for subscribers.”
Reuters and CNN join a crowded field. A study from the Reuters Institute found 75% of America’s leading newspapers and magazines are behind paywalls. That same report found 30% of all news sites use paywalls.
However, the study also revealed that 80% of Americans aren’t interested in paying for news.
This year, the BBC announced it would cut 500 full-time positions. Disney’s ABC TV stations laid off 3% of its news division.
CNN also reduced its workforce by 3%, the LA Times cut 20% of its newsroom and The Associated Press announced an 8% staff reduction.
The AP stated, “Our customers — both who they are and what they need from us — are changing rapidly. This is why we’ve focused on delivering a digital-first news report. We now need to accelerate on this path. Doing so will require making some difficult changes so we can invest more fully in our future.”
Some media analysts suggest the move toward charging consumers for news could also harm the quality of news as people search for trustworthy, free content.
"Only 12% of voters pay for news." 📰
Keep this in mind when you're wondering why misinformation spreads so rapidly, while the articles/posts that debunk it can't seem to make a dent. https://t.co/Kf28VTvEwH
Pollster and Straight Arrow News opinion contributor Frank Luntz posted on X, “Only 12 percent of voters pay for news. Keep this in mind when you’re wondering why misinformation spreads so rapidly, while the articles and posts that debunk it can’t seem to make a dent.”
The Atlantic, a left-leaning news organization, also wrote about the decline of credible news consumption in a world where much of the news is locked behind paywalls. The article, titled “Democracy Dies Behind Paywalls,” was itself behind a paywall.
Claire Wardle is the founder of the nonprofit First Draft, which focuses on misinformation. She told Boston’s NPR station people aren’t paying for news. She also claimed this business model is pushing them further away from traditional news sources.
“When people go and search on Google, they’re just not able to open the link at sites that have fact-checked information,” Wardle said. “There’s now this ‘like what’s the point?’ feeling. So we know that people are turning to one another for information, spending more time on social media platforms where there are other people giving that information for free. They’re spending more time listening to podcasts and relying on these closed sources of people who look like them, sound like them, and give them information that reinforces their worldviews.”
This comes after a landmark ruling earlier this year found Google violated U.S. antitrust law to maintain an abusive monopoly over the past decade.
In a 23-page document, the Justice Department also called for tighter restrictions to prevent Android from favoring Google’s search engine. Justice lawyers also asked the judge to allow websites to opt out of having data trained by Google’s AI models.
“The playing field is not level because of Google’s conduct, and Google’s quality reflects the ill-gotten gains of an advantage illegally acquired,” the Justice Department wrote in its filing.
Google has promised to appeal. It had previously called the Justice Department’s proposals “staggering.”
“DOJ’s approach would result in unprecedented government overreach that would harm American consumers, developers, and small businesses — and jeopardize America’s global economic and technological leadership at precisely the moment it’s needed most,” Google said in a statement earlier Wednesday.
Bloomberg reported that if the move is approved by a judge, Chrome could sell for as much as $20 billion.
How Trump 2.0 could change the landscape of Big Tech antitrust
With two months until President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, his policy plans are clear in many areas. But what do the next four years of antitrust regulation look like after the Biden administration’s aggressive enforcement?
Unlike trade, immigration and energy policy, it’s not expected that Trump’s goal is to undo the previous administration’s work. And a lot has happened over the past four years. But when it comes to Big Tech, experts point out that there’s no love lost between Trump and Silicon Valley.
“It’s a sector he doesn’t particularly like,” former Federal Trade Commission Chair William Kovacic told Straight Arrow News. “So my general intuition is that in that area, he says, ‘Carry on.’”
When it comes to Khan, her term as chair and commissioner expired in September 2024.
“My instinct would be that on the day of the inauguration, that evening or the next day, President Trump will sign a letter that designates one of the two Republicans on the commission to be the chair, probably as acting chair,” Kovacic said.
Even after the incoming president replaces Khan as chair, she could remain a commissioner until her replacement clears the confirmation process.
“The speed with which she departs the commission will depend on her own personal preferences,” Kovacic said. “Does she want to stay as part of a loyal opposition, maintaining a three-vote bloc that could operate to retard a rollback of her program?”
Meanwhile, the Department of Justice recently won a landmark case against Google when a judge ruled it monopolized the search space. The government is now asking the judge to force Google to sell off Chrome as the most severe remedy. The DOJ started the case under Trump’s first administration.
In the specific case of Google, Kovacic doesn’t believe the Trump administration will stand in the way of any action.
“I think at a minimum that means that DOJ will have a pretty broad remit to proceed with wrapping up the case as it sees fit, without the White House jumping in and saying, ‘Don’t do that,’” he said.
With a new administration set to take charge of antitrust, Kovacic said the antitrust legacy under Biden won’t disappear, especially when it comes to Khan, who has received support from incoming Vice President JD Vance.
“What she leaves behind, in part, is a renewed debate about what antitrust should be all about, and that’s going to be durable,” Kovacic said.
Dem super PAC plans GOP resistance event, Google hosting afterparty
Priorities USA, a top Democratic super PAC, is gathering digital activists in Washington, D.C., to evaluate its campaign efforts and strategize ways to oppose the Republican agenda. The meeting will conclude with a happy hour co-hosted by Google, sparking fresh debate over Big Tech’s political involvement.
The event, dubbed the 2024 Digital Retrospective, aims to analyze the organization’s digital mobilization efforts following Vice President Kamala Harris’ election loss.
According to an invitation obtained by the Washington Free Beacon, the summit will discuss lessons learned from the campaign and prepare for deeper planning sessions in the coming months.
Priorities USA’s major donors include billionaire financier George Soros and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The group spent $75 million on digital mobilization during the 2024 election cycle.
In the invitation, the super PAC quoted Harris’s concession speech.
“This is not a time to throw up our hands. This is a time to roll up our sleeves,” the invitation said.
Google confirmed its role in hosting the post-meeting happy hour but distanced itself from the political discussions. A Google spokesperson said its political sales team regularly hosts events for advertisers on both sides of the aisle.
The involvement of Big Tech in political events has drawn attention amid growing scrutiny. President-elect Donald Trump has long accused Google of bias, claiming it manipulates search results to disadvantage him.
On the campaign trail, Trump pledged to address these concerns but ruled out breaking up the company, citing its importance in countering China.
Adding to the tension, Trump nominated former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., to become his attorney general. Gaetz is a vocal supporter of antitrust legislation targeting Big Tech. He previously praised the Biden administration’s efforts to hold Google accountable.
The event highlights the intersection of corporate influence and political strategy as tech companies face mounting criticism from both sides of the aisle.
DOJ to squeeze Google to sell Chrome to bust search monopoly: Report
The federal government is seeking to break up a tech giant for the first time in more than two decades. Antitrust officials are preparing to ask a federal judge to force Google to sell its Chrome operating system, according to a report from Bloomberg.
Judge Amit Mehta ruled in August 2024 that Google monopolized the search engine space. The case dates back to 2020, when the Department of Justice and attorneys general from 38 states and territories sued Google for anticompetitive practices.
The lawsuit focused on Google’s practice of paying billions of dollars to companies like Apple and Samsung to have Google be the default search provider on those devices. The New York Times reported the company paid $18 billion in 2021 to secure the right.
The Justice Department is expected to ask Mehta for a number of remedies to reduce Google’s monopoly in the industry, according to Bloomberg, who spoke with people familiar with the matter.
The biggest action would be forcing Google to sell Chrome, which is the most-used web browser on the planet, according to Statcounter. The DOJ contends the browser is a gateway for users to end up on Google’s search engine.
But with more than 3 billion monthly active users, a Bloomberg analyst estimates Chrome could be worth up to $20 billion. The hefty price tag would make it hard to find a buyer with the capital and know-how to take over the product. While a company like Amazon could entertain the option, it has also been fighting accusations of anticompetitive practices.
If the judge does force the sale, it’ll give regulators the corporate-busting victory they failed to secure against Microsoft decades ago. But this step is one of the tallest orders. Bloomberg reports the officials could choose to go a lesser route if other actions make the search market more competitive
“The DOJ continues to push a radical agenda that goes far beyond the legal issues in this case,” Google Regulatory Affairs Vice President Lee-Anne Mulholland told Straight Arrow News in a statement. “The government putting its thumb on the scale in these ways would harm consumers, developers and American technological leadership at precisely the moment it is most needed.”
Initially, regulators contemplated having Google sell off the Android mobile operating system but chose not to go that direction. Instead, they are planning to force the company to unbundle Android from its other products, including the Google Play store and the search engine.
DOJ officials may also require Google to share more information with advertisers and give them greater power over where their ads are shown. They will also recommend Google sell its search data to competitors, which could boost rivals and, by nature, make for a more competitive environment.
Google said it would appeal the August ruling and the states are still proposing remedies, according to Bloomberg. Meanwhile, Mehta set a two-week hearing in April 2025 on what remedies Google should take and plans to issue a final ruling by August 2025.
“If all of these appeals come about, we’re a good two years away from a final answer with respect to liability and remedies for a case that began in the second half of 2020,” former Federal Trade Commission Chair William Kovacic told Straight Arrow News in August. “I guess all of us can look at that and say, ‘Is that a sensible way to make decisions about such fundamental matters of economic policy and operation? A case that lasts the better part of seven years?’ But that’s what we’re in for going ahead.”
Harris, Trump look to win the West with 4 days until Election Day
As the presidential campaign heads into the final weekend, former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris swing through the western U.S. to sway undecided voters. And crews in Spain search for survivors after a year’s worth of rain fell in just hours. These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Friday, Nov. 1, 2024.
Harris, Trump look to win the West with days until Election Day
With just four days to go until Election Day and more than 65 million ballots already cast, the candidates are making their final stops on the campaign trail. On Thursday, Oct. 31, both nominees visited the western United States to make their case.
Republican nominee former President Donald Trump spoke at campaign events in New Mexico, Nevada and Arizona, while Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris held rallies in Arizona and Nevada.
At an event in Glendale, Arizona with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, Trump repeated his stance of there being “an enemy within” the United States — a comment Harris has criticized in her speeches.
“If you have a smart president, somebody that knows what’s happening, you’re going to be fine,” Trump said, “But we do have an enemy from within. We have some very bad people, and those people are also very dangerous. They would like to take down our country. They’d like to have our country be a nice communist country or a fascist in any way they can, and we have to be careful of that.”
In Henderson, Nevada, Trump said Harris would not be able to handle the presidency, calling her “a child” when it comes to understanding the economy. He also announced former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. would be working on “health and women’s health” if he’s reelected.
While in Reno, Nevada, Harris continued her warnings to supporters about another Trump presidency, calling trump “increasingly unstable” and “obsessed with revenge.”
“In less than 90 days, either he or I will be sitting in the Oval Office, and listen, here’s what we can imagine, right, we’ve all seen on TV — you’ve seen the Oval Office — just visually imagine what that day will be,” Harris said. “Because, if elected, Donald Trump on day one would walk into that office with an enemies list. When I am elected, I will walk in with a to-do list on behalf of you.”
The vice president told the crowd that people are “exhausted with Trump’s rhetoric.” She also appealed to female voters, criticizing Trump’s comments that he would “protect women” saying, “Trump does not respect the freedom of women.”
Harris’ Nevada rally was interrupted by protesters at times, but the vice president said it was “OK” and “we’re fighting for the right to be heard.”
Friday, Nov. 1, both candidates will hold rallies in Milwaukee, Wisconsin as the final weekend of the 2024 election cycle begins.
‘Avengers,’ LeBron endorse Harris; Jake Paul backs Trump
Some famous faces put their names behind their pick for president on Thursday. Members of the cast of Marvel’s “Avengers” film franchise assembled to show their support for Vice President Harris while YouTube star Jake Paul backed former president Trump.
Actors Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo and others gathered together in a social media video supporting Harris. NBA superstar LeBron James also backed Harris in a post on X saying, “When I think about my kids and my family and how they will grow up, the choice is clear to me. Vote Kamala Harris.”
Social media influencer turned boxer Jake Paul put his endorsement behind the Republican nominee. In a video posted to his YouTube channel, Paul laid out his reasons and asked his followers to do their own research.
“Regardless of your emotion, I’m just presenting you with facts,” he said. “Do I think Donald Trump is a perfect human being? No. I don’t think anybody on this planet is a perfect human being, myself included. To be frank, I’m not concerned with Donald Trump’s ‘character flaws’ or what he’s done in the past. What I’m concerned with is how good a president is he, because that is his job and that’s what’s going to affect the people of this nation.”
Why I Am Not Suspending My Campaign Let me be clear: Despite the immense pressures and intense assaults on my campaign and character, I intend to hold the torch and finish this race – to and after November 5th! The escalating corruption of the US political system and the… pic.twitter.com/CQrcOTX9vi
West accused the Pennsylvania secretary of state of improperly keeping him off the ballot for not filing all the required paperwork. The state’s top court agreed with the secretary of state, but a federal judge said while it does seem like Pennsylvania’s rules make it harder for third-party candidates to get on the ballot, it’s too close to Election Day to re-print ballots and re-test election machines without increasing the risk of error.
Flash floods claimed the lives of at least 158 people, with 155 deaths confirmed in the eastern Valencia region alone. Spain’s minister for territorial policy said Thursday dozens of people are still missing but they don’t have an exact number of how many.
Army specialist charged in female soldier’s murder at Missouri base
Her body was found in a dumpster at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri last week. Rancy, who’s with the 5th Engineer Battalion, is also charged with obstruction.
The Department of Army Criminal Investigation Division, which is the primary federal law enforcement agency of the United States Army, is overseeing the probe.
The department has not specified a motive for the killing. It is also unclear if Rancy and Roque knew each other.
OpenAI adds search and summary function to ChatGPT
Google has some new competition. OpenAI has added a search function to its artificial intelligence bot ChatGPT.
Paying subscribers are now able to activate a mode on ChatGPT that makes it respond to queries by searching the internet for the latest information and summarizing what it finds. The search capabilities are powered by Microsoft’s Bing search engine and will draw information from articles by publishers OpenAI has deals with, including The Wall Street Journal owner News Corp. and the Associated Press.
While this function is only for paying subscribers for now, OpenAI said it plans to bring search to all users eventually.
Russia fines Google impossible sum for blocking YouTube channels
A Russian court has fined Google an unprecedented $20 decillion after the tech giant blocked Kremlin-linked channels on YouTube. The fine, which doubles every week Google refuses to pay, reflects the widening rift between Russia and global tech companies over sanctions and content controls.
The court’s ruling stems from lawsuits filed in 2020 by Russian outlets Tsargrad TV and RIA FAN, which allege unlawful censorship after YouTube restricted their channels. Since then, 15 additional Kremlin-backed channels have joined the suits, citing U.S. sanctions and policy violations as reasons for the blocks.
The cumulative fine, now larger than the combined GDP of every nation by a trillionfold, underscores Russia’s symbolic pushback against Silicon Valley’s content restrictions.
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In response to mounting fines, Google declared bankruptcy in Russia in 2022 after authorities seized over $100 million from its Russian subsidiary.
Legal analysts say that while Google is unlikely to pay the fine, which now stands at 2 undecillion rubles (equivalent to $20 decillion), the case illustrates growing geopolitical strains as governments worldwide confront Big Tech’s influence.
Alphabet, Google’s parent company, has countersued in various countries, including Turkey, South Africa, Serbia, and Kyrgyzstan, aiming to shield its assets from further claims.
Legal experts say that while the unprecedented fine carries mostly symbolic weight, it reflects the intensifying battle between technology firms and state control in content regulation.
YouTube’s blocks began with sanctions on Konstantin Malofeyev, a Russian oligarch linked to Tsargrad TV, after he was accused by the U.S. of aiding Russia’s military interventions in Ukraine.
RIA FAN, founded by Yevgeny Prigozhin of Wagner Group fame, was also targeted by YouTube for policy violations after Prigozhin’s 2023 mutiny against the Kremlin. Since then, hundreds of Russia-associated channels have been removed from YouTube for either sanction compliance or content deemed to minimize violence.
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As the fine continues to double each week, the amount could reach 1 googol — a 1 followed by 100 zeros — within 219 weeks if left unpaid, though Google’s current market capitalization is $2 trillion, far from the fine’s demands.
Legal analysts suggest Russia’s court decision is largely symbolic but highlights how Google, and tech companies at large, are being forced to confront national laws and international sanctions that affect their operations.
The case remains a potent symbol of the political clashes shaping today’s digital media landscape. Google has yet to comment on the current status of the fine but continues to challenge claims on its assets beyond Russian borders.
Microsoft accuses Google of ‘shadow campaigns’ to influence EU regulators
Microsoft publicly accused rival tech company Google of running “shadow campaigns” to discredit the competition to EU regulators. The accusations include funding a fake grassroots campaign to “mislead the public.”
“I’ve taken pains to tell the truth, even when that might make things more complicated for Microsoft,” Microsoft’s Deputy General Counsel Rima Alaily wrote in a blog post. “It’s not comfortable or natural for me to pen something critical of someone else, but in this case, I think it’s important because it concerns me when someone attacks us and, I believe, does so dishonestly.”
Microsoft claims Google hired an advisory firm to set up “an astroturf group” called the Open Cloud Coalition that is set to launch this week. A flyer linked in Microsoft’s blog post says it is a group of cloud platforms “being formed to advocate for a fair, competitive and open cloud services industry across the UK and EU.”
“It is designed to discredit Microsoft with competition authorities, and policymakers and mislead the public,” Alaily wrote. “Google has gone through great lengths to obfuscate its involvement, funding, and control, most notably by recruiting a handful of European cloud providers, to serve as the public face of the new organization.”
Alaily says Microsoft found out about the scheme from a company that chose not to join the Open Cloud Coalition.
“One of the companies approached, who ultimately declined, told us that the organization will be directed and largely funded by Google for the purpose of attacking Microsoft’s cloud computing business in the European Union and the United Kingdom,” Alaily said.
Google ranks third globally in the cloud market behind Amazon and Microsoft and has made multiple attempts to paint Microsoft as anti-competitive in the space.
“We’ve been very public about our concerns with Microsoft’s cloud licensing,” a Google Cloud spokesperson told Straight Arrow News in an email. “We and many others believe that Microsoft’s anticompetitive practices lock-in customers and create negative downstream effects that impact cybersecurity, innovation, and choice. You can read more in our many blog posts on these issues.”
“We’ve been speaking to many business and public sector organizations,” Google Cloud’s Head of Platforms Amit Zavery said in September. “What we’re seeing is a lot of restrictions Microsoft has created using their dominance in the on-premises software and not letting customers have a choice of moving that workload to any cloud provider of their choice.”
It’s not the first time Microsoft has faced criticism for bundling items and forcing users to adopt their products. The landmark antitrust case against Microsoft in the 1990s ruled Microsoft acted like a monopoly by restricting the ability to remove Internet Explorer and use other programs to surf the web. Microsoft avoided getting broken up on appeal and settled the case in 2001.
Google’s new AI will be able to control your browser, make purchases: Report
Google’s Gemini AI may soon take control of users’ browsers, potentially handling online purchases like shopping and booking flights. According to a report from The Information, this technology is part of a project codenamed “Jarvis” and would be a major step in Google’s consumer-focused AI strategy.
The new system would allow Gemini to navigate the Chrome browser autonomously. It would use virtualized clicks and screenshots to navigate, a method similar to Anthropic’s Claude AI.
Google is reportedly preparing an early preview of this capability as soon as December. A beta test will follow and focus on ensuring reliability and security for tasks involving money.
If successful, Gemini would bring unprecedented automation to daily browsing. Google aims to integrate AI into its wider ecosystem, including Chromebooks and Pixel devices.
However, the concept of AI making financial transactions independently raises concerns over security and user control, issues that Google will likely address in any trial phases.
For now, Google hasn’t officially confirmed these plans, but the project would align with its efforts to integrate AI into practical, consumer-focused functions.
