It’s been a blockbuster month for antitrust lawsuits.
Two major cases have landed two of the world’s biggest tech companies in federal court. Google and Meta are both fighting to survive in their current form. Google recently lost its second antitrust case in a year - a judge ruled it holds an illegal monopoly in digital advertising. More drama is unfolding for the company in a separate courtroom during hearings that will determine how Google should be penalized for operating an illegal monopoly in search.
Meanwhile, Meta is battling it out with the FTC which wants to force the company to sell Instagram and WhatsApp. Amazon and Apple also face antitrust lawsuits.
"Aggressive enforcement is here to stay,” Deputy Assistant Attorney General Omeed Assefi told me in an exclusive interview. “What you'll find are people who don't wake up in the morning looking to tear down tech companies and tear down American innovation. In fact, what you'll see is a group of people who strongly believe that the best remedy for American innovation and for the American marketplace is to have open competition with companies."
Assefi focuses on criminal enforcement in the DOJ’s antitrust division. He also served in Trump’s first term and was the acting antitrust head for 3 months before the senate confirmed Gail Slater in March.
As the future of these tech giants hangs in the balance I sat down with Assefi at the DOJ’s San Francisco office. We talked about his approach to the job, Google’s remedies trial and the Trump administration’s stance on big tech.
The interview below has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
