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Antitrust cases against Google, Meta, Amazon and Apple
from 2020; Google ruled a monopolist 2024; Meta won its FTC case 2025· Law or policy· Laws, labor & antitrust
Well documentedSolid records, texts or physical evidence.
Since 2020 US regulators have sued Google, Meta, Amazon and Apple for monopolization, the biggest antitrust push since the Microsoft case.
See it on the Innovation & Wealth map →What happened
The Justice Department sued Google over search in 2020 and over advertising technology in 2023, winning both: judges found illegal monopolies in 2024 and 2025. In search, Judge Amit Mehta declined to force a sale of Chrome but barred exclusive deals. The FTC sued Meta in 2020, losing in November 2025, and Amazon in 2023, with trial set for 2027. The Justice Department sued Apple in 2024. Europe moved faster, with big fines and its Digital Markets Act, binding from 2024.
Impact on society and the economy
Begun under Trump and pursued under Biden and Trump again, they test whether century-old laws written for oil and railroad trusts can rein in digital platforms, many of them free to users.
How we know
Court filings and opinions, internal emails released at trial, and testimony from executives including Google's Sundar Pichai and Meta's Mark Zuckerberg.
Still debated
Whether remedies like data-sharing will open markets, and whether AI is eroding these firms' power faster than courts can act.
Inside this (1)
Connections (6)
▸Sherman Antitrust Act is the law used in Antitrust cases against Google, Meta, Amazon and AppleWell documented
The connection
Section 2 of the 1890 Sherman Act, which bans monopolizing, underpins the Justice Department's suits against Google and Apple. Courts ask whether a firm has monopoly power and kept it through exclusionary conduct rather than better products, the test applied in US v. Microsoft (2001). The FTC's cases apply similar standards under its own 1914 law.
When and how
Google search case filed 2020 in Washington, D.C.; Google ad-tech case 2023 in Alexandria, Virginia; Apple case March 2024 in New Jersey.
How we know
The complaints and rulings cite Sherman Act Section 2 directly; Judge Mehta's 2024 opinion found Google violated it.
Debates
Whether a law written for railroads and oil trusts fits free products paid for with data and ads, where the usual sign of harm, higher prices, is hard to show.
▸Clayton Act and the Federal Trade Commission empowered the FTC suits in Antitrust cases against Google, Meta, Amazon and AppleWell documented
The connection
The 1914 FTC Act created the commission and let it sue over 'unfair methods of competition'; it used that power against Meta (2020) and Amazon (2023). The Meta case attacked purchases the FTC itself had cleared under the Clayton Act's merger-review rules: Instagram (2012) and WhatsApp (2014). The agency argued Meta bought rivals instead of competing.
When and how
The FTC in Washington; the Meta case in D.C. federal court, filed December 2020 and decided November 2025; the Amazon case in Seattle, filed September 2023 with 17 states.
How we know
The complaints and court opinions are public and cite the FTC Act; merger-review records show the FTC cleared both Meta deals at the time.
Debates
Whether regulators can undo mergers they approved a decade earlier, and whether the FTC, after losing to Meta, will fare better against Amazon at trial in 2027.
▸Jeff Bezos and Amazon faces FTC charges in Antitrust cases against Google, Meta, Amazon and AppleWell documented
The connection
In September 2023 the FTC and 17 states sued Amazon, alleging it keeps a monopoly by punishing sellers who offer lower prices elsewhere and by pressing them to buy its warehousing and delivery to qualify for Prime; fees, the FTC says, take nearly half of many sellers' revenue. Amazon says its practices lower prices. Bezos was no longer CEO.
When and how
Federal court in Seattle; the FTC under chair Lina Khan, whose 2017 article 'Amazon's Antitrust Paradox' shaped the case; trial set for 2027.
How we know
The complaint and court filings are public; Judge John Chun let the core claims proceed in 2024. Separately, Amazon paid $2.5 billion in 2025 to settle Prime sign-up charges.
Debates
Whether low prices for shoppers outweigh higher costs for sellers, a trade-off courts have not settled for online marketplaces.
▸Google (Larry Page and Sergey Brin) was ruled a monopolist in Antitrust cases against Google, Meta, Amazon and AppleWell documented
The connection
Judge Amit Mehta ruled in August 2024 that Google illegally kept its search monopoly, about 90% of US searches, partly by paying Apple, Samsung and others over $26 billion in 2021 to be the default. In September 2025 he declined to force a sale of Chrome but barred exclusive deals and ordered some data sharing.
When and how
Federal courts in Washington, D.C. (search, filed 2020) and Alexandria, Virginia (ad tech, filed 2023, monopoly found April 2025); the Justice Department with state attorneys general.
How we know
The court opinions are public and cite Google's internal emails and the default payments; Google said it would appeal.
Debates
Whether the search remedies, widely seen as mild, change anything, especially as AI chatbots compete with search; some critics say the fix came too late.
▸Facebook / Meta (Mark Zuckerberg) beat an FTC monopoly suit in Antitrust cases against Google, Meta, Amazon and AppleWell documented
The connection
The FTC argued Meta bought Instagram and WhatsApp to remove rising rivals, citing Zuckerberg's 2008 email that 'it is better to buy than compete.' In November 2025 Judge James Boasberg ruled for Meta: whatever happened earlier, the FTC had not shown Meta holds monopoly power today, since TikTok and YouTube compete for the same users' time.
When and how
Federal court in Washington, D.C.; filed December 2020, dismissed and refiled in 2021, tried April–May 2025, decided November 18, 2025.
How we know
The opinion and trial record, including Zuckerberg's testimony and internal emails, are public.
Debates
Whether the FTC was right about the 2012–2014 deals even though it lost on today's market; the ruling shows how fast TikTok reshaped competition.
▸iPhone and the smartphone platform economy drew App Store scrutiny in Antitrust cases against Google, Meta, Amazon and AppleWell documented
The connection
Apple lets iPhone users install apps only through its App Store in most countries, and charges developers up to 30% on digital sales. Epic Games sued in 2020; a 2021 ruling and a 2025 contempt order made Apple let US apps link to outside payments. In March 2024 the Justice Department sued Apple for monopolizing smartphones by locking users in.
When and how
Federal courts in Oakland (Epic v. Apple) and New Jersey (the Justice Department case); the European Commission in Brussels, which fined Apple €500 million in 2025.
How we know
Court rulings, the Justice Department complaint and EU decisions are public; analysts estimate App Store commissions at tens of billions of dollars a year.
Debates
Whether Apple's control protects users' security and privacy, as it argues, or mainly protects its fees; the Justice Department case may take years.