New York, January 31 — Since the turn of the century, tech giants have expanded rapidly, leading to unprecedented market dominance. Industry leaders leverage their influence, resources, and strategic acquisitions to cement their positions. However, recent antitrust crackdowns have significantly reduced the regulatory ambiguity that once allowed these firms to operate with minimal oversight.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have taken center stage in challenging anti-competitive business practices in the United States. Under antitrust legislation, any action unfairly restricting competition can trigger an investigation and potential legal action.

One such practice is the predatory acquisition of smaller firms to establish monopolistic control over an industry. Meta, formerly Facebook, has come under scrutiny for its high-priced acquisitions of WhatsApp in 2014 and Instagram in 2012. The FTC filed a lawsuit against Meta in 2020 under the Trump administration, arguing that these mergers were designed to stifle emerging competition and create an unlawful monopoly in personal social networking. The case is set to go to trial this April.

Antitrust enforcement is not limited to the U.S. In Europe, stringent regulations have led to significant penalties for tech companies found guilty of anti-competitive behaviour. Google, for instance, has long held a dominant 90% share of the European Economic Area (EEA) search engine market. While such market control is not inherently illegal, companies in positions of significant power are expected to avoid exploiting their dominance. In 2017, Google was fined €2.42 billion after an EU investigation found it had unfairly advantaged its Google Product search feature over competitors.

Under the 2024 Trump administration, the DOJ filed a $14 billion lawsuit against Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) in Northern California over its proposed acquisition of Juniper Networks. The deal, intended to bolster HPE’s competition against Cisco, has raised concerns about market consolidation.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Omeed A. Assefi stated, “HPE and Juniper are successful companies. But rather than continue to compete as rivals in the WLAN marketplace, they seek to consolidate—further concentrating an already concentrated market.”

Both companies have strongly condemned the DOJ’s ruling, arguing that the decision is flawed. As legal battles unfold, the outcome of these cases will set critical precedents that could reshape the landscape of mergers and acquisitions in the tech sector.

Works Cited

Godoy, Jody. “Meta Faces April Trial in FTC Case Seeking to Unwind Instagram Merger | Reuters.” Meta Faces April Trial in FTC Case Seeking to Unwind Instagram Merger, Reuters.com, 25 Nov. 2024, www.reuters.com/technology/meta-faces-april-trial-ftc-case-seeking-unwind-instagram-merger-2024-11-25/. 

“Antitrust: Commission Fines Google €2.42 Billion for Abusing Dominance as Search Engine by Giving Illegal Advantage to Own Comparison Shopping Service - Factsheet.” European Commission - European Commission, European Commission, 26 June 2017, ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/es/memo_17_1785. 

Hirsch, Lauren, and David Mccabe. “U.S. Sues to Block Tech Deal in First Antitrust Action of Trump Term.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 30 Jan. 2025, www.nytimes.com/2025/01/30/business/dealbook/hpe-juniper-deal-blocked.html.