Break 'Em Up: Google’s Reckoning Day is Hollywood’s Big Chance
As Big Tech faces historic antitrust rulings, a new power shift could revive studios, boost creators and reshape the digital ad economy
I offer analysis for paid subscribers every other Thursday. This is part two of my deep dive into the state of play for Hollywood amid the Trump era’s Big Tech crackdown. In part one, I wrote about the crackdown on Apple’s App Store tax is huge for streamers.
We are entering “landmark” territory in terms of what’s happening with Big Tech and antitrust. The Northern California U.S. District Court ruling that Apple violated the court’s order for it to allow off-Apple payments was big — with significant implications for every studio and streamer, as I wrote last week.
But consider these three other cases from April:
Google was ruled a monopolist in digital ad tech.
The “remedy” portion of the Google search monopolization case began (it’s already been deemed a monopoly, so now it’s what to do about it to curb its power).
The Department of Justice lawsuit against Meta for monopolizing the social media business also started.
You may not think about Google and Meta as competitors, but they are for ad dollars, and YouTube, of course, competes for time spent watching entertainment. These developments could have profound affects to the two companies that dominate digital access to consumers and advertising.
Frankly, these cases will have a huge impact on tech and entertainment (which are so intertwined nowadays as to be inseparable) that seems much more substantial than, say, a random tweet by the President on tariffing movies.
So that’s what I’m writing about today, what to expect as the Google penalties are determined — and what all this means for the M&A landscape. (Note: I’m not a lawyer, so I’ll use some legal terms more casually than jurists might.)
In today’s column:
The one group that should sue Google to break off YouTube — and win
What a Meta breakup could mean for marketers desperate to escape the algorithm trap
Why Trump-era chaos could be Hollywood’s unexpected M&A lifeline
The bold remedies on the table for taming Google — and why publishers should be celebrating
Did YouTube ride Google’s monopoly wave? The case for unfair advantage
How creators could be the biggest winners from Big Tech’s great unraveling (again)