The Feds took their best shot at Big Tech. They missed.
The government can make Big Tech pay. But it can't make it smaller, which was the point.
Two federal judges have ruled that Google's boss, Sundar Pichai, operates a monopoly, but this hasn't hindered the company's growth. Bloomberg/Getty Images has noted a similar trend across Big Tech. The US government has attempted to implement new regulations but has failed to do so. Instead, it has pursued legal action, with mixed results.
In 2024, a federal judge determined that Google monopolized certain ad markets, but the consequences are likely to be minimal. Google may need to be more cooperative with competitors, but it is unlikely to undergo any significant structural changes. This follows a ruling in 2023 that Google also operated a monopoly in search. The government has "won" twice in these cases, but the penalties have been relatively light.
In other high-profile cases, such as those involving Meta and Microsoft, the government has lost. The government's attempts to regulate Big Tech through the courts have not been successful, and it seems unlikely that it will change its approach in the future. While some companies, like Meta, have agreed to significant settlements, investors appear unconcerned, as their stocks have risen after announcing potential payouts.
This suggests that the focus remains on addressing the actions of the past rather than preventing the next phase of Big Tech's expansion, particularly in the field of artificial intelligence.
Written by urgent.news from Business Insider's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
