It was an interesting start to the week: headlines announcing that the Justice Department is preparing an antitrust investigation into Google. What’s more, the U.S.’s two antitrust enforcers had divvied up the major tech platforms, deciding that the Justice Department would be responsible for future Google and Apple investigations. The Federal Trade Commission—which investigated and cleared Google in 2013—would take Facebook and Amazon.
For those of you who don’t follow this as closely, the FTC is composed of a total of five Republican and Democratic commissioners, appointed to seven-year terms by the president. The DOJ is overseen by Attorney General William Barr, who is appointed by President Trump. Read into that what you will.
The horse-trading may sound familiar to close watchers of tech regulation.