2019 Outlook: Online Giants Loom Large in Antitrust Law, Policy

Antitrust Partner David Kully spoke with Bloomberg Law on the influence that technology giants like Google or Amazon will have on antitrust law in 2019. There has been debate on whether tech giants should be held liable through government enforcement and litigation as their economic powers increase. Mr. Kully discusses how not all big companies are technically bad and their size and position should not be the only factor to compel antitrust enforcement agencies to step in.

The big online players "may be successful because they are really innovative and offer great products and services," Mr. Kully said.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been receiving pressure to reopen an antitrust investigation into whether Alphabet Inc.'s Google is abusing the online search market with its dominance. The European Commission ordered the company to pay a $2.7 billion antitrust fine and change its search practices while the FTC decided to not bring a case against Google in 2013. That decision has made the FTC be criticized for being too soft on Google.

"To the extent that there is anticompetitive conduct, I think that our enforcers are up to the task," said Mr. Kully.

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