US Tech Antitrust Enforcement in Flux
The leadership of U.S. technology antitrust enforcement faces instability after the Justice Department's top antitrust chief was abruptly fired just weeks before a major trial. Concurrently, a Texas federal judge blocked the FTC's attempt to implement stricter merger notification rules. Analysts suggest the turmoil may embolden large-scale M&A activity in tech- and data-focused sectors.
- The ousted official is Gail Slater, who had served as the head of the Justice Department's antitrust division. Her departure followed disagreements with Attorney General Pam Bondi over Slater's perceived skepticism of corporate mergers and the handling of cases like Hewlett Packard Enterprise's $14 billion acquisition of Juniper Networks. - The FTC rule blocked by U.S. District Judge Jeremy Kernodle in Texas would have significantly expanded the information companies must provide to the government for merger reviews under the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce brought the suit, and the judge ruled the FTC did not prove the benefits of the new rule would outweigh the costs. - A major upcoming antitrust trial is the FTC's case against Amazon, scheduled for late 2026, which alleges the company holds a monopoly in online superstores and marketplace services. - A remedies decision is also expected in early 2026 for the DOJ's case against Google, where a judge has already found the company monopolized publisher ad servers and ad exchanges. - The turmoil comes as a landmark trial against Meta, TikTok, and YouTube is underway, with plaintiffs alleging the companies intentionally designed their platforms to be addictive and harmful to children's mental health. - From mid-2021 through 2024, increased antitrust enforcement led to a significant drop in acquisitions of startups by large corporations. This created fewer opportunities for smaller startups to be acquired, leading to more business shutdowns and lower returns for venture capital investors. - The previous head of the DOJ's Antitrust Division, Jonathan Kanter, who served from 2021 to 2024, had worked with FTC Chair Lina Khan to aggressively reform federal merger guidelines and increase challenges to Big Tech. - Omeed Assefi, who has previously served as acting antitrust chief, will lead the DOJ's division on an interim basis following Slater's departure.
