Like a Trade War, But for Apple, Facebook and Google
Big multinationals are suddenly not alone in finding their world has changed dramatically.
Seeing red again.
Photographer: Bloomberg/BloombergPresident Donald Trump has opened an odd new front in the trade war: siccing his government on America’s own tech giants. It may be merited and have bipartisan appeal, but the timing is awkward.
The first warning shot came on Friday, with news the DOJ will soon launch an antitrust probe of Alphabet Inc.’s Google. Some might read this as just more Trumpian bluster, not unlike his tweet attacking AT&T Inc., which the market laughed off, sending AT&T shares higher. But Google must take the threat of potential action very seriously, writes Shira Ovide. It only narrowly avoided antitrust consequences back in 2013, she notes, and the political tides have turned against it since then.