With Trump, there’s always a deal to be made—or at least, that’s what Google hopes for. Google reportedly met with President Donald Trump’s administration last week and urged them to reconsider the plan that would result in the company breaking up.
The US versus Google
The US Department of Justice (DoJ) and Google are embroiled in a lawsuit. The DoJ accuses Google of being a “once, twice, three times a monopolist” over its dominance in the search and digital advertising sector. The lawsuit claims that Google monopolized these technologies to control the advertising ecosystem, harming competitors, advertisers, and website owners in the process.
This includes actions like paying Apple and Mozilla billions of dollars to ensure Google remains the default search engine. To settle this lawsuit, the DoJ has proposed that Google break itself apart. It also proposed Google sell off some products, like Chrome.
Google’s former CEO, Eric Schmidt, called it a “terrible” idea. The company has also offered a counterproposal. However, it feels more like a game of semantics rather than an actual change proposal. Sensing defeat, Google has turned to the Trump administration, hoping to sway them against the break up plan.
Google has defended its meeting, saying it “routinely” meets with regulators. It also expressed its concern that the current proposals “would harm the American economy and national security.”
A deal to be made
Trump has a history of feuding with Big Tech. However, his administration has shown a willingness to negotiate if the right incentives are in place. Plus, his general disdain for the Biden administration means that if there’s an opportunity for him to undo something done by his predecessor, he might jump at it.
This means that if Google plays its cards right, it could negotiate a favorable outcome. If it does deal, it won’t be the first company to try to play nice to stay in Trump’s good graces. Other big tech firms, such as Apple and TSMC, have made similar “deals,” resulting in investments worth $500 billion and $100 billion, respectively.
Maybe Google needs to make a similar “investment” of its own. This goes to show that under the Trump administration and his business-minded approach, companies may be able to navigate legal challenges if they are willing to make deals.
