What Trump's election victory means for Google antitrust cases – and the tech industry

Donald Trump's victory in the White House could have significant implications for antitrust regulations and U.S. policy toward the tech sector – including two pending Justice Department cases against Google.

Trump – a longtime Google critic who has accused the search giant of political bias and election interference – has nevertheless recently expressed reluctance to break up the company. This is despite the fact that the DOJ's case against its online search monopoly began in 2020, during Trump's first term.

“That would be a very dangerous thing because we want great companies,” Trump said during an event in Chicago last month. “We don’t want China to have these companies. Right now, China is afraid of Google.”

On Wednesday, Google CEO Sundar Pichai was among a number of technology CEOs who congratulated Trump on his White House victory.

“Congratulations to President @realDonaldTrump on his decisive victory,” Pichai wrote. “We are in a golden age of American innovation and are committed to working with his administration to help ensure everyone benefits.”

Google faces two Justice Department antitrust lawsuits that could upend its business – one against its online search empire and another against its digital advertising business. The DOJ also has a pending antitrust case against Apple, while the Federal Trade Commission is suing Mark Zuckerberg's Meta and Amazon.

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled in August that Google had an illegal monopoly on online search. However, a separate process to determine appropriate remedies will stretch into Trump's first term – with Mehta not expected to make a decision until next summer.

The schedule would give Trump — and his DOJ appointees — a chance to adjust their strategy.

“He is certainly able to control the Justice Department's decision on the remedial phase,” William Kovacic, a Republican and former chairman of the Federal Trade Commission under President George W. Bush, told Reuters.

Last month, the Justice Department cited a forced sale of parts of Google's business, such as the Chrome web browser, as one of the remedies the court could take.

During a recent interview with Joe Rogan, Trump bragged that Pichai called him to compliment him on the popularity of YouTube videos showing the Republican's recent campaigns serving french fries at a McDonald's in Pennsylvania stop.

During a conversation with radio host Hugh Hewitt, Trump called both Google and Apple “great companies.” He said Apple CEO Tim Cook recently called him to complain about the billions of dollars in fines his company is facing in Europe.

The president-elect also criticized the European Union for stepping up enforcement of regulations against U.S. tech companies.

“If you look at Google lately, I think you’ll see that they’re much more pro-Trump,” he said. “They’re starting to like Trump because they’re starting to understand it.”

To the surprise of many, Trump also expressed skepticism about ongoing efforts in Congress to force a divestment or ban on Chinese company TikTok. The legal dispute over the future of the app is currently being heard in federal court.

The general expectation is that Trump's presidency will lead to a looser regulatory environment for technology companies.

These include the various companies led by billionaire Elon Musk, who became a key ally and major donor to the Trump campaigns. During the Biden administration, Musk had regularly complained about the red tape faced by SpaceX and Tesla.

Trump has signaled he will nominate Musk to head a new “Government Efficiency Commission” to cut wasteful federal spending and regulations.

Trump will also almost certainly replace FTC Chairman Lina Khan and SEC Chairman Gary Gensler – both of whom had roiled top executives by taking aggressive actions against everything from mergers and acquisitions Cryptocurrencies and artificial intelligence.

With post wires