Key U.S. technology antitrust questions the courts could answer in 2024

A series of antitrust cases brought by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission could spark court rulings that help to expand or rein in the agency's powers

A Seattle court is expected to rule next year on the FTC’s lawsuit against Amazon [File] | Photo Credit: REUTERS

A series of cases brought by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission could spark court rulings that help to expand or rein in the agency's powers.

A Seattle court is expected to rule next year on the FTC’s lawsuit accusing e-commerce giant Amazon of abusing its power to artificially keep prices high. Amazon’s attorneys have defended what they call “common retail practices” and denied any antitrust violations.

In Texas, the FTC will try to convince a judge to green-light its antitrust case against private equity firm Welsh Carson Anderson & Stowe over its investments in the healthcare sector. Attorneys for the firm contend that allowing the FTC to pursue the case would mean “turning decades of settled corporate law on its head.”

The agency’s antitrust case against Facebook, accused of abusing its power in the personal social network market, could head to trial in 2024.

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Google’s antitrust woes

Alphabet's Google will be fighting on a variety of court fronts in the new year, facing off with the U.S. Justice Department, states and corporate plaintiffs such as “Fortnite” maker Epic Games.

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta in D.C. will hear closing arguments in May in the Justice Department’s case accusing Google of unlawfully maintaining its dominance over internet search. In Virginia, the government’s challenge to Google’s ad tech business is expected to head to trial.

Lawyers for Epic in the new year will have a chance to argue for an injunction challenging Google’s Play store practices. A jury in San Francisco in December ruled for Epic in a major antitrust challenge over in-app payments and app distribution on Android devices. Google separately agreed to pay $700 million and make some reforms to its Play store in a December 18 deal with consumers and states in related litigation.

Epic mostly lost a similar case against Apple, and it has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review that case, including an order that would require it to make some changes to its App Store.