DOJ antitrust chief Delrahim questions whether there’s ‘credible evidence’ Big Tech is harming innovation

The Justice Department’s top antitrust enforcer, Makan Delrahim, is receptive to complaints that tech companies such as Google and Facebook may be hindering competition with their dominance but believes regulators lack the economic evidence that would be needed to prove such a case in court. Delrahim that there are “very valid concerns at some level” about whether companies in Silicon Valley are getting too big, or “stifling innovation or consumer choice.” In principle, those complaints could ultimately lead to an antitrust suit, Delrahim said. And there is little question that some tech firms enjoy market power in certain markets, he conceded. But Delrahim quickly added that the allegations against the companies thus far are merely “anecdotal stories.” “I don’t know if any of the enforcement bodies necessarily have that credible evidence,” Delrahim said.

Delrahim also dipped his toe into a swirling debate over whether tech companies' products may be discriminating against conservative viewpoints. “I’m concerned about the concerns that have been raised,” Delrahim said, “because not so much is it ‘because conservatives,’ but because one day, depending on ownership, it could be liberals. I think you have to be very careful about the power of big companies in a democracy.”