Judging by the political winds, Silicon Valley
For the first time since 1988, the Democratic Party’s platform includes stronger antitrust enforcement, while leading liberals have singled outGoogle, Apple and Facebook for holding too much market power.
Republicans considered (but ultimately rejected) inserting stronger antitrust language in their party platform, and standard-bearer Donald Trump has a famously frosty relationship with Silicon Valley, favoring heavier taxation and forcing Apple to shift manufacturing to the U.S.
Those expecting a showdown, however, may be disappointed. That’s because antitrust regulators and U.S. judges tend to believe that products that don’t cost a dime are beyond their purview. And that’s how most of Silicon Valley’s products are marketed these days. Facebook’s slogan reassures: “It’s free and always will be.” Google claims: “One free account gets you into everything Google.” And Apple has an entire section of its App Store devoted to “free apps.”
