Experts warn that while Google has lost its anti-trust case, Harris may be positioned to get the tech giant off the hook if elected.
The antitrust trial against Google started on January 24, 2023. On August 5, 2024, a judge recently ruled that Google has an illegal monopoly over online searches.
Judge Amit Mehta found that Google’s practice of paying billions to companies like Apple to make its search engine the default on most smartphones has hurt competition. As a result, DOJ lawyers might ask Mehta to make Google sell parts of its business, like its Android system, Chrome browser, and AdWords advertising, or to stop its default deals and share data with other search engines.
The court will discuss Google’s next steps on September 6, 2024, but the tech giant has promised to challenge the decision. Any penalties might take years to be implemented.
This issue will likely continue into the next president’s term. If Kamala Harris becomes president, her administration could influence how strictly Google is regulated. Some experts worry that her tech-friendly advisors might push for leniency towards Google.
Harris is getting a lot of help from Eric Holder, who checked out possible running mates for her, and her brother-in-law Tony West, who took a break from his job at Uber to help with her campaign. Both of them are rumored to be possible choices for jobs in the Harris administration.
In 2010, when Holder was the attorney general in the Obama administration, he stopped the DOJ’s antitrust head, Christine Varney, from investigating Google for having a “monopoly on search.” Instead, the FTC investigated and decided not to file any charges.
Harris is closely connected to Paul Weiss, a top law firm defending Google in the antitrust case. Karen Dunn, a leading lawyer at the firm, is helping Harris prepare for debates. Also, the firm’s chairman, Brad Karp, is said to lead a group of lawyers raising money for Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign.
Dunn, a well-known Democratic operative, was once considered a candidate for the head of the DOJ’s antitrust division, a position that eventually went to Jonathan Kanter. She also helped Attorney General Merrick Garland prepare for his Senate confirmation hearing in 2021.
An anonymous congressional source said there is concern that Google is paying Dunn a lot to help them avoid serious consequences, possibly through a minor settlement. The source added that it’s worrying that she has so much access to Vice President Harris, Garland, Monaco, and their teams.
According to data from OpenSecrets, Paul Weiss employees have given a huge $1.46 million to Democrats this election cycle, more than any other law firm. The firm also employs several former members of the Biden-Harris Department of Justice.
Harris hasn’t shared her opinions on tech-related antitrust issues yet. She has received donations from Google before and is said to have positioned herself as a “friend to the tech industry” during a 2010 meeting with their employees.
Donald Trump has no problem voicing his opposition to the biased search engine. In recent interviews, Trump called Google “illegitimate” and warned that the company needs to be careful. He also said he felt Google might be close to shutting down.
It wouldn’t be the first time Trump has tried to break Google. In 2020, his administration brought an antitrust case against the tech giant. Makan Delrahim, who was the DOJ’s antitrust chief during the Trump administration, said there has always been a plan to try to break up Google, according to a source close to the DOJ.
Bill Kovacic, a former FTC Chair, believes that Donald Trump is more likely than Harris to push for serious action against the company. He notes that Trump doesn’t “trust or like the tech industry” as much as Harris does. Kovacic said that Trump believes tech leaders helped stop him from winning in 2020 and will want to “punish them” by breaking up their companies.
Google has interfered in elections before and is pulling out all the stops to get Harris in office. It’s not support…it’s survival.
