Roundup: Is the tech antitrust era waning?

On both sides of the Atlantic, regulators have been accumulating wins against the tech industry — though the European Union has many more than the United States. In recent years, the EU has brought in the Digital Markets Act, followed by the Digital Services Act more recently, leading to more restrictions on the business practices of major tech companies, not to mention fines and enforcement when they breach the rules. In the United States, Google was just declared a monopolist, and more antitrust trials for Google and the rest of the gang are coming.

Yet, despite those wins, some of the key movers in this fight against the tech industry are retreating from the scene — and some not of their own choice. EU competition czar Margrethe Vestager will be leaving later this year, while European Commissioner Thierry Breton — who shepherded the DSA — recently resigned as EU President Ursula von der Leyen was working behind the scenes to remove him. They both achieved the creation of these important regulatory frameworks, but their effectiveness will depend on implementation and enforcement. Some tech companies are already snubbing an AI Pact initiated by Breton now that he’s gone.

It’s not yet clear who will be taking up that task, and whether they have the same commitment to taking on the tech companies as their predecessors. A recent report by former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi calling for more corporate consolidation and a greater emphasis on promoting tech “innovation” doesn’t give much hope the EU will stay the course.

Across the pond, the United States is moving forward with more anti-monopoly legal cases, but it’s not clear how much enthusiasm there will remain for that fight after the elections in November. Donald Trump has fully embraced the right wing of the tech industry, and will surely do what they want when coming to power — including the removal of Federal Trade Commission head Lina Khan, whose term expired this month but she can stay on until there’s a replacement. Kamala Harris has also not come to Khan’s defense as her own donors have been calling for her removal, as Harris has focused on courting wealthy donors and right-wing voters. Harris has much closer ties to Silicon Valley than Biden did, and there are worries she may not take up the fight against tech as the administration has over the past few years.

The tech industry’s power needs to be reined in. Progress, while slow, has been being made on this front. But we may be in the process of witnessing the revenge of the tech oligarchs.

This week in the roundup, find some great pieces about tech elites suing Honduras, the people who backed Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover, how a new Huawei laptop shows the state of China’s tech self-sufficiency, and the new Network School for tech libertarians. Plus, plenty of labor updates and other tech news you might have missed.

Over on Tech Won’t Save Us, I spoke to Tamara Kneese about what happens to our digital remains once we die and why tech billionaires are desperate to turn themselves into chatbots.

I’m trying to work my way through the new Bill Gates series on Netflix to write a review, but it’s been a slog so far. I don’t know how anyone finds it the least bit compelling. I should also have some thoughts on Mark Zuckerberg’s latest boasts in the next few days.

Have a great week!

— Paris