According to Forbes, Google, Meta, Microsoft and Amazon are planning to spend a staggering $370 billion on AI data center construction this year alone. Google has increased its 2025 AI spending plans from $85 billion to between $91 and $93 billion, while Meta is pushing toward the high end of its $66-72 billion range with plans for “notably larger” 2026 expenditures. Microsoft similarly expects to increase spending beyond its initial $80 billion 2025 allocation. These massive capital commitments come as all four companies face ongoing antitrust lawsuits from the DOJ and FTC that were originally filed between 2020 and 2024.
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Antitrust Meets Reality
Here’s the thing about monopolies: they don’t typically pour hundreds of billions into uncertain futures. Mark Zuckerberg himself admitted on a recent earnings call that Meta might be overinvesting in AI. But that’s exactly the point – they’re terrified of being left behind. This isn’t the behavior of companies resting on their laurels. It’s the desperate sprint of businesses that know competition could eat them alive if they hesitate.
Think about the timing here. The DOJ sued Google in 2020, the FTC went after Meta that same year, then Amazon in 2023, and Microsoft just last year. But look what’s happened since those cases were filed. The entire industry has pivoted to AI in a way nobody predicted. We’re talking about investment levels that make previous tech booms look like pocket change. The antitrust cases are essentially fighting the last war while these companies are already on to the next battlefield.
Netflix’s Unexpected Hit
The article opens with this brilliant example of KPop Demon Hunters becoming Netflix’s most-streamed film ever. Nobody saw it coming – not even Netflix’s own studio chief Dan Lin, who expected it to be a “niche hit.” Halloween costume demand outstripped supply, and theaters only picked it up after its surprise streaming success. This perfectly illustrates how unpredictable the tech and entertainment landscape has become. If even the platform hosting the content can’t predict what will blow up, how can regulators possibly claim to understand market dynamics well enough to bring meaningful antitrust cases?
Basically, we’re in an era where tomorrow really is another country, as the article paraphrases George Will. The ground is shifting so rapidly that by the time regulators finish building their cases, the market has completely transformed. It’s like trying to hit a moving target while blindfolded.
Saving Face
So what should the Trump administration do? The article suggests they should “quietly, but firmly call off the antitrust dogs.” And honestly, that might be the most pragmatic approach. These cases were conceived in a different technological era. Continuing to pursue them while these companies are making bet-the-company investments in AI infrastructure just looks… well, silly.
The sheer scale of this spending – $370 billion this year alone – tells you everything you need to know about the competitive pressures these companies feel. They’re not acting like monopolists. They’re acting like businesses terrified of being disrupted. Maybe it’s time for regulators to focus on actual consumer harm rather than theoretical market dominance that seems to evaporate with every technological shift.
