At Reuters, Jody Godoy reports,

U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema in Alexandria, Virginia, found Google liable for “willfully acquiring and maintaining monopoly power” in markets for publisher ad servers and the market for ad exchanges which sit between buyers and sellers …

U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi called the ruling “a landmark victory in the ongoing fight to stop Google from monopolizing the digital public square.”

“This Department of Justice will continue taking bold legal action to protect the American people from encroachments on free speech and free markets by tech companies,” she said. “Google holds illegal monopolies in ad tech, US judge finds,” April 17, 2025. Here’s the judgment.

The decision will, of course, be appealed.

Meanwhile, the anti-trust case against Meta (Facebook and Instagram) is putting executives on the grill. At NPR, Bobby Allyn reports,

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg defended his social media platform on Monday before a federal judge in the U.S. government’s blockbuster case against the tech giant, which opened on Monday.

The Federal Trade Commission is arguing that Meta has abused its power and acted as a monopoly by acquiring rivals in order to defang them as competitors. “Meta and the FTC face off in court over monopoly claims,” April 14, 2025

Allyn adds, “Monday marked the start of what is expected to be a months-long trial seen as a test of the Trump administration’s ability to challenge the power of Silicon Valley.”

That’s interesting because, if Netscape’s Marc Andreessen is any guide, one reason for the change of guard in Washington last November was that the Democrats were treating the Valley like owned real estate. The Valley may be powerful enough to help change government but can it defy or ignore government and win? Buckle up.

You may also wish to read: Marc Andreessen on how Silicon Valley culture is changing. The change very much affected political allegiances in last year’s U.S. election.