Trump May Reassess Antitrust, Merger Policies, Potentially Halt Google Breakup

So what will U.S. antitrust policies look like under the new administration?

According to a Reuters report, experts predict Donald Trump will roll back some of the policies instituted under President Joe Biden. This could include abandoning the Justice Department’s (DOJ) efforts to break up Alphabet’s Google, which has been under scrutiny for monopolistic practices in the online search and advertising technology space.

The Reuters report cited a quote from Trump during an event at the Economic Club of Chicago: “If you do that, are you going to destroy the company? What you can do without breaking it up is make sure it’s more fair.”

A federal judge ruled in August that Google unlawfully maintained an online search monopoly. A trial to determine potential remedies is scheduled for April 2025. The DOJ has proposed various remedies, including divesting parts of Google’s business and revising agreements that make Google the default search engine on devices like the iPhone, according to Reuters.

Halting the Google breakup would be a notable shift from the previous Trump administration’s stance, which included accusations of bias against Google and legal action against the tech giant for alleged antitrust violations.

While legal experts told Reuters that some existing cases against Big Tech will continue (the most high-profile ones are a DOJ suit against Apple and Federal Trade Commission litigation against Meta and Amazon), the report said Trump may ease restrictions on mergers and acquisitions that were set by the Biden administration.

McDermott, Will & Emery Partner Jon Dubrow told Reuters that the Trump administration FTC and DOJ will probably scrap merger review guidelines that were established in 2023.

Trump’s administration could also revise policies implemented by FTC Chair Lina Khan, which sought to address perceived harm from corporate consolidation. While some praised Khan’s initiatives, including Vice President-elect JD Vance, others criticize them as excessive, Reuters reported.

Despite these anticipated changes, the Reuters report also noted that Trump is unlikely to completely abandon antitrust enforcement. The report cited an analysis by the Sheppard Mullin law firm indicates that the number of merger cases initiated during Trump’s first term was comparable to those pursued in the initial years of Biden’s presidency.