Published on: April 20, 2025 / Updated on: April 20, 2025 – Author: Konrad Wolfenstein
Google and Meta in the crosshairs of US antitrust regulators: Antitrust proceedings despite close ties to Trump – Image: Xpert.Digital
Google & Meta: Political Deals vs. Antitrust Law - The End of the Advertising Monopoly?
Battle for digital power: Google, Meta and the US antitrust authorities
At the heart of current developments is a landmark ruling against internet giant Google, which, according to the US Department of Justice, has established an illegal monopoly in the field of online advertising. Simultaneously, a potentially existential lawsuit is underway against Meta, with the possibility of the company being broken up. Although both technology companies are vying intensively for the favor of US President Donald Trump—with donations for his inauguration, direct talks, and political concessions—these efforts appear to have yielded little fruit so far. The antitrust proceedings, which were initiated under the Biden administration, continue despite Trump's return to the White House. This could have far-reaching consequences for the business models of both internet giants and fundamentally alter the digital landscape.
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The verdict against Google: A milestone in the fight against tech monopolies
The US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, presided over by Judge Leonie Brinkema, has delivered a clear verdict: Google has established an illegal monopoly in the placement of online advertisements. In her 115-page ruling, the judge states that the corporation has not only "deprived competitors of the opportunity to participate in the market," but has also harmed website operators—especially publishers—as well as consumers of information and news online.
The judge concluded that Google had achieved a dominant position in ad servers and ad exchanges through unfair competition. According to the court, Google systematically built and consolidated this monopoly over more than ten years. With a market share of over 90 percent of the global internet advertising market, there is little doubt about Google's dominant position.
Google's anti-competitive practices
The court is particularly critical of the way Google has linked its various services. The judge specifically objected to Google's bundling of marketplaces for distributing and acquiring online advertising. This bundling of products has made it considerably more difficult for customers to switch to competing offers.
A key point of criticism is the connection between Google's ad exchange, which is part of the so-called Google Ad Manager, and the ad servers that Google acquired through its purchase of the advertising marketer DoubleClick. According to the court, this bundling prevents the use of competing products. "By forcing Google's publishing customers to use a product they might not otherwise have necessarily used, by making it difficult for competing ad servers to compete on a performance level, and by significantly reducing the market share of competitors, this tie-in has significant anti-competitive effects on the open web display advertising market," Judge Brinkema wrote in her ruling.
Consequences for Google and the company's reaction
The ruling is a heavy blow for Google, even though the specific consequences will only be determined in further proceedings. It's possible that Google will be forced to divest parts of its advertising business. The spin-off of the Ad Manager platform and possibly other products is being discussed. In an extreme scenario, a complete breakup of the advertising business, including the separation of DoubleClick and Admeld, could even be demanded.
However, Google considers the case "half won." Lawyers for the US Department of Justice failed to convince the judge that the acquisitions of the advertising platforms DoubleClick (2008) and Admeld (2011) were inherently anti-competitive. While the judge emphasized that these acquisitions helped Google strengthen its monopoly position in adjacent business areas, she ruled that, on their own, they did not prove that Google had achieved a monopoly through exclusion.
Google's defense strategy
Google has already announced its intention to appeal the ruling. The company rejects the accusations, arguing that advertisers have many options and choose Google because its tools are "simple, affordable, and efficient." Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google's manager responsible for lobbying regulators, reiterated this position and again rejected the monopoly claim.
This is the second ruling in just a few months that could directly impact Google's market position. Last year, a US court already ruled Google's exclusive contracts in the browser market anti-competitive. That case concerned the market dominance of the Chrome browser, for which Google paid billions for its default pre-installation on devices.
Meta in the crosshairs of US antitrust regulators: The ongoing trial
Alongside Google, Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, is also under scrutiny from US antitrust regulators. The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is conducting an investigation against Meta, which was initiated in December 2020, at the end of Trump's first term.
The accusation: Meta created an illegal monopoly in the social networking and messaging services sector through its acquisitions of Instagram (2012) for approximately one billion dollars and WhatsApp (2014) for around 22 billion dollars. The FTC claims that from 2016 to 2020, Facebook held an average market share of 80 percent on smartphones and 98 percent on PCs among daily active users, with the share never falling below 70 percent.
Impending dismantling of Meta
The stakes are incredibly high for Meta. Reversing the acquisitions would be potentially devastating for the company. Instagram has become a key revenue driver for Meta, accounting for 48 percent of the company's advertising revenue in 2024 – roughly $32 billion. In 2025, Instagram is expected to reach half of Meta's advertising revenue for the first time, with this figure projected to continue rising.
The FTC argues that the quality of Meta's apps has declined due to weakened competition. Meta, on the other hand, maintains that the acquisitions have benefited users and strengthened competition. The company rejects the accusations of monopolization, pointing, among other things, to fierce competition from other platforms like TikTok.
Strategic approaches to Trump: The efforts of Google and Meta
Faced with the threat of antitrust consequences, both Google and Meta have made intensive efforts to curry favor with the Trump administration. The technology companies are apparently pursuing a strategy of political rapprochement to mitigate potential negative effects of the ongoing antitrust proceedings.
Meta's Trump Offensive
Particularly striking are the efforts of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. In recent months, Zuckerberg has visibly moved closer to Trump. He was prominently present at Trump's inauguration, and Meta donated approximately one million dollars to the event. Furthermore, Meta has relaxed the rules for content on its platforms and discontinued fact-checking in the US.
A particularly clear sign of rapprochement was the agreement between Meta and Trump on a payment of $25 million as compensation for the freezing of his accounts after the storming of the Capitol in January 2021. Of this sum, $22 million is to go into the fund for Trump's presidential library.
Digital expert Markus Beckedahl described Zuckerberg's actions as a "180-degree turn" and "Mark Zuckerberg's capitulation to Donald Trump and his incoming administration." Beckedahl emphasized that Meta fulfills "almost all the wishes and demands of the Republican Party," such as the abolition of fact-checking and the enforcement of "radical free speech on all platforms.".
According to US media reports, Zuckerberg even appealed directly to Trump to persuade the FTC to reach a settlement in the ongoing antitrust case. In March, Meta initially offered the FTC $450 million to settle the case, while the agency was demanding $30 billion.
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Google's diplomatic efforts
Google pursued a similar strategy. The company also donated one million dollars to Trump's inauguration, and Google CEO Sundar Pichai was present at the ceremony. The tech companies' efforts to curry favor with Trump even went so far as to include jointly urging him to take action against what they consider "overzealous" EU regulations.
Trump's influence on US competition authorities and international regulation
Despite all these efforts, Google and Meta do not appear to be receiving any substantial help from Trump so far. The antitrust proceedings, initiated under the Biden administration, continue, and Trump has yet to take any concrete steps to stop or mitigate them.
FTC restructuring and its impact
However, Trump has already expanded his influence over the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) by dismissing the two Democratic commissioners and seeking full control of the agency. This restructuring could have long-term implications for the enforcement of competition rules in the US.
The FTC was traditionally conceived as an independent, bipartisan agency. Trump's interventions could fundamentally alter the commission's working methods. Nevertheless, the current proceedings against Google and Meta demonstrate remarkable tenacity on the part of the US antitrust regulators. These proceedings were initiated during Trump's first term, continued under Biden, and could now – again under Trump – be concluded.
Pressure on EU regulation
Another aspect is Trump's potential influence on the international regulation of technology companies, particularly within the EU. Apple, Meta, and Google are urging Trump to intervene against what they consider the EU's "overzealous" approach. The tech giants hope that Trump could exert pressure on the European Commission to loosen or reverse the regulations.
There are indeed reports that some officials and diplomats in Brussels have considerable respect for the future US president. This could lead the EU Commission to reassess its investigations under the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and possibly reduce their scope.
Tech giants under pressure despite political maneuvering
Recent developments show that even the world's largest technology companies are not immune to antitrust consequences – not even through political rapprochement with powerful decision-makers like Donald Trump. The ruling against Google marks a significant milestone in the fight against monopolies in the digital sphere and could have far-reaching consequences for the entire technology sector.
Google may be facing a breakup or restructuring of its advertising division, while Meta is confronted with the potential spin-off of its most valuable acquisitions – Instagram and WhatsApp. Both companies are vying intensely for the favor of the Trump administration, but so far without resounding success.
The coming months will show whether the political efforts of the tech giants bear fruit or whether the US antitrust authorities continue on their current course. Regardless, the current proceedings mark a turning point in the regulation of digital markets and could permanently alter the balance of power on the internet.
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