BREAKUP IS POSSIBLE UNDER TRUMP
Much of this depends on whether the DOJ’s efforts survive under a President Donald Trump. When Bloomberg News Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait recently asked whether Google should be broken up, the then-candidate responded: “Look, Google has got a lot of power. They’ve been bad to me…”
“You would break them up?
“I’d do something,” Trump replied. “They’ve become such a power. How they became a power is really the discussion. At the same time, it’s a very dangerous thing because we want to have great companies. We don’t want China to have these companies. Right now, China is afraid of Google.”
Trump may be unsure where he stands, but a breakup is by no means off the table. Not only was the DOJ’s search case filed at the tail end of Trump’s last term, but incoming vice president JD Vance has publicly said Google should be split up.
Elon Musk, now a key player in Trump’s administration, has also long worried about the company’s consolidation of control in artificial intelligence. He also has a vested interest in the matter, as the founder of a new AI company and chief executive officer and “technoking” of Tesla, for which the technology is integral.
There’s a good chance, in other words, that the DOJ’s efforts could prevail – albeit slowly. The court is holding hearings on the proposed breakup in April 2025, with US Judge Amit Mehta expected to rule by August. Google will almost certainly appeal, and the process could take years.
Still, if history is any guide, kicking things off with a divorce from Chrome isn’t just strategic. It’s the opening move in what could eventually become the biggest antitrust showdown since AT&T.
