Big Tech vanquishes Washington
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Illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios
Big Tech has defeated its bipartisan critics, setting itself up to get even bigger.
The big picture: There is widespread agreement in D.C. that a small handful of companies have become uncomfortably powerful.
- But almost all efforts to stem the tide have failed, leaving politicians with few deliverables beyond viral videos of CEOs being berated during congressional hearings.
Driving the news: The last gasp of opposition was snuffed out this week in a federal courtroom, when Meta won a landmark antitrust case that had been brought by the Federal Trade Commission near the end of President Trump's first term.
Zoom in: Big Tech moves much faster than does government.
- Antitrust lawsuits, for example, often get decided by how particular markets are defined. But the cases can drag on for years, during which time the markets can be dramatically altered by technological changes.
- For example, the FTC's original case against Meta highlighted competition from Snap — but not from TikTok. In his ruling, the judge suggested that the FTC's definition of the social media market was outdated.
- Judges also rely on written law, and Congress is systemically behind the times.
In the courts: The U.S. government didn't just lose on Meta. It also lost when trying to stop Microsoft from buying Activision and when trying to convince a court that Google should be forced to divest Chrome.
- A broad antitrust case against Amazon isn't expected to go to trial until 2027.
- DOJ continues to pursue an antitrust case against Apple, and is awaiting remedies for a different case against Google.
In the Congress: Major legislation to curb Big Tech is stalled.
- That includes a privacy bill, an antitrust bill called JPCA, and the Kids Online Safety Act.
- Same goes for efforts to regulate AI.
Behind the scenes: Making things even stickier is that some prominent political critics of Big Tech, such as Vice President Vance, also are Big AI advocates.
- In other words, the anti-Big Tech alliance is fractured.
Look ahead: One thing that could shift momentum is if lots of Americans begin losing jobs to AI, or at least perceive that they're losing jobs to AI.
The bottom line: Big Tech is emboldened to buy. And it will.
