U.S. Government Gazes Toward Google, Nvidia Over Antitrust Concerns

The Biden Administration is scrutinizing a number of big tech companies over allegations of violating antitrust laws.

The Department of Justice and multiple states attorneys general are gathering in a Virginia courtroom Monday to try and make a case that Google illegally monopolized the technology powering the $300 billion U.S. market for digital ads in a way that pushed competitors out of the market.

It's the second attempt by the Biden Administration's Department of Justice to pursue a technology antitrust case.

The case arrives less than a month after a federal judge in Washington, D.C., determined that Google had illegally monopolized the online search market through deals made with Apple and Samsung to make Google the default search engine. The court is still attempting to determine the remedy for such a determination, since the case is the first suit from the DoJ against a big tech company since it attempted to sue Microsoft over the software giant allegedly monopolizing control of the internet through Internet Explorer. Google intends to appeal the case.

Google has pushed back on the DoJ's charges, alleging that it had market control by having the best products, not by manipulating prices or other elements.

Nvidia, Microsoft Probed Over Technology Antitrust Allegations

Google isn't the only big name in technology to face antitrust charges. Nvidia reportedly received a subpoena from the Department of Justice last week over allegations that it had violated antitrust laws to become one of the biggest chipmakers in the world, according to Bloomberg. The company denies these claims and says it wasn't subpoenaed by the DoJ.

The Federal Trade Commission, operated by its chair, Lina Khan, also plans to probe Microsoft and OpenAI over whether they've built a monopoly around artificial intelligence.