Second Trump administration may be more lenient on antitrust enforcement – JPMorgan

JPMorgan believes a potential second Donald Trump administration in the US could be more lenient when it comes to enforcing antitrust laws.

The Trump administration, which was in office from 2017 to 2021, launched investigations into the tech giants, which were then continued by the government of incumbent President Joe Biden.

Under the Biden administration, major developments on the antitrust front include a civil lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) in January 2023 against Alphabet (GOOG) (GOOGL) Google for its alleged monopoly on digital advertising technologies, and another DOJ lawsuit filed in March of this year year against Apple (AAPL) for allegedly monopolizing smartphone markets.

Meanwhile, Meta Platforms (META), the company that owns Facebook, has also found itself in the crosshairs of the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

“The Biden Administration has taken an aggressive approach to antitrust enforcement. “Google, Meta (META) and (National Association of Realtors) are just some of the most prominent names that have come under the scrutiny of the Department of Justice and the FTC,” according to JPMorgan. Michael Feroli said in a research note on Friday.

“A second Trump administration will likely take a softer approach to enforcing the relevant laws,” the analyst said.

“Despite this, some conservatives are becoming increasingly open to strong competition policies, earning the nickname ‘Khan-servatives’ in reference to current FTC Chair Lina Khan,” Feroli added.

The analyst also noted that the Heritage Foundation’s 2025 project is “subject to antitrust enforcement actions against Big Tech.”

The project, known as the 2025 Presidential Transition Project, is an effort to develop policies and programs for a conservative administration that would begin in January 2025 if Trump wins.

In the bill’s policy agenda, the chapter on the FTC outlines several developments that “many but not all conservatives believe” could justify “careful calibration of some aspects of antitrust and consumer protection law and enforcement.”

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