May 05, 2025
It's Monday, Pros. Welcome back.
1 big thing: Big Tech antitrust gains real momentum
Losses are racking up for Big Tech firms in antitrust cases and policy enforcement around the world, giving momentum to ideas that felt nearly impossible to achieve just a few years ago, Ashley writes in her column today.
Why it matters: That's a sharp change from when the idea that Big Tech could be broken up seemed to be a fantasy drawn up by certain circles in Washington and eager-to-legislate policymakers in Europe.
What they're saying: "For decades, a basic philosophy of antitrust was that the worst thing the government could do was to bring an economically flawed antitrust case and lose, or even worse — win, and risk destroying a competitive market," Kenneth Dintzer, an antitrust partner at Crowell & Moring and former DOJ attorney, told Axios.
- "This presumption is falling — which means that (across the globe) enforcers are getting more aggressive, less worried they are stepping on innovation."
State of play: We've reported on the growing power of the left-right nexus on tech antitrust law in Washington, and how under President Trump's second term, it's stronger than ever.
Beyond that, there are a couple of high-profile moves in the space we want to highlight:
Apple's big loss in California: A federal judge referred Apple for a contempt probe in a ruling last week for not sufficiently opening up its App Store following litigation with games maker Epic.
- Apple is appealing. But soon after the ruling, apps like Spotify had their app update (with features they've long wanted for customers but were banned from having due to Apple's rules) approved in the App Store.
Google, Meta cases press on in federal court: The DOJ is full steam ahead with its two cases against Google, zeroing in on the idea that Google is using generative AI investments as another means of shoring up dominance, and the FTC continues to call up witnesses in its own proceeding against Meta.
Jim Jordan's FTC defanging flop: Rep. Jim Jordan last week attempted to kneecap the FTC's ability to go after antitrust cases via reconciliation.
- He had to quickly drop that bid after pushback from FTC chair Andrew Ferguson and the White House.
DOJ's Gail Slater's MAGA Antitrust enthusiasm: Antitrust chief Slater is giving speeches about how the MAGA movement and holding Big Tech accountable go hand-in-hand.
- "America First Antitrust empowers America's forgotten men and women to shape their own economic destinies in the free market," Slater said in a speech at the University of Notre Dame law school last week.
FTC commissioner Mark Meador makes his case: Meador delivered his own MAGA antitrust statement in a speech to conservative groups last week.
- "Big is bad. When referring to the size of the government or political power, this statement is not only uncontroversial among conservatives, it is axiomatic," Meador said.
Yes, but: Things to watch include the administration's continued defense of American tech companies when faced with legal action abroad.
- Despite tough talk at home, USTR called Meta and Apple's fines under the Digital Markets Act "unfair trade barriers" not to be tolerated.
2. Hill hearing watch: AI, military tech and more
Here's what we're watching this week on the Hill.
1. Military tech: The House Armed Services Subcommittee on Cyber, Information Technologies, and Innovation meets tomorrow at 3:30pm ET for a hearing on the Pentagon's science, technology and innovation posture.
2. AI edge: On Wednesday at 10am ET, the House Judiciary panel on courts, IP, AI and the Internet holds a hearing titled "Protecting Our Edge: Trade Secrets and the Global AI Arms Race."
3. Military AI: The House Armed Services cyber panel meets again on Thursday at 9am ET to focus on the Pentagon's artificial intelligence posture.
4. Commerce nom: At 9:45am ET on Thursday, the Senate Commerce Committee holds a business meeting to take up the nomination of Paul Dabbar to be deputy secretary of Commerce.
- Dabbar, the co-founder and former CEO of Bohr Quantum Technology, served as the Department of Energy's undersecretary for science during the first Trump administration.
5. AI regs: Immediately after, at 10am ET, Commerce holds a hearing on AI with OpenAI's Sam Altman, Microsoft's Brad Smith, AMD's Lisa Su and CoreWeave's Michael Intrator set to testify.
- Per the announcement, the hearing will zero in on "how removing regulatory barriers on the AI supply chain can accelerate innovation and secure U.S. dominance in the 21st century global industrial revolution."
✅ Thank you for reading Axios Pro Policy, and thanks to editors Mackenzie Weinger and David Nather and copy editor Bryan McBournie.
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