Trump’s Antitrust Trio Heralds Big-Tech Crackdown to Continue

President-elect Donald Trump’s antitrust picks are likely to take a hard-line on the tech giants, and a harder line on corporate consolidation than the average Republican. Mike Davis, a key outside adviser to the president-elect and head of anti-big tech organization Internet Accountability Project, said Trump selected “serious antitrust reformers” for the three key enforcement roles. “Biden’s antitrust law enforcers find a lot of common ground with Slater, Ferguson and Meador on the need to hold the trillion-dollar big tech monopolists accountable for their market abuses,” he said. Tech Cases In a research note Wednesday, TD Cowen’s Paul Gallant said Ferguson’s anti-Big Tech stance likely means the FTC will continue pursuing its antitrust cases against Meta Platform Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. as well as a recently launched investigation into Microsoft Corp. And while Ferguson has pledged to be more deal-friendly, that may not apply to the tech giants, which have sought to invest in generative artificial intelligence startups, Gallant said. Slater, an economic policy aide to Vice President-elect JD Vance, is likely to continue many of the cases filed by the Biden team, such as the twin lawsuits against Google and an antitrust case against Apple Inc. Amanda Lewis, who worked with both Slater and Meador at the FTC and later on Capitol Hill, said they bring “a unique combination of antitrust litigation and policy expertise, along with a sophisticated understanding of the US and global tech sector.” The FTC’s two remaining Democrats, Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, raised concerns about Ferguson’s proposed priorities.