Trump DOJ targets AI companies for anticompetitive, control-of-pipeline practices

The Trump administration is actively monitoring the artificial intelligence sector for anticompetitive behavior as part of its strategy to maintain U.S. AI dominance, according to Department of Justice officials. This enforcement approach signals that federal antitrust regulators view competition protection as essential for fostering innovation in the rapidly evolving AI landscape.

What you should know: The DOJ is specifically targeting exclusionary practices that could limit access to critical AI infrastructure and resources.

• Assistant Attorney General Gail Slater emphasized that “the competitive dynamics of each layer of the AI stack and how they interrelate, with a particular eye towards exclusionary behavior that forecloses access to key inputs and distribution channels, are legitimate areas for antitrust inquiry.”
• The enforcement focus aligns with Trump’s broader AI action plan designed to cement American technological leadership globally.

In plain English: The AI stack refers to the different layers of technology that work together to create AI systems—from the basic computing power at the bottom to the applications people use at the top. Think of it like a sandwich where each layer depends on the ones below it, and controlling any single layer can give companies unfair advantages over competitors.

Key areas of concern: Data access and vertical integration are emerging as primary enforcement priorities for antitrust officials.

• The DOJ will closely monitor how companies acquire and control access to valuable datasets, particularly in sensitive sectors like healthcare.
• Slater warned that “demand for data could drive mergers or business combinations between companies and their suppliers, known as vertical integration, especially in industries where downstream businesses may have access to valuable and sensitive data like healthcare data.”
• Officials are also watching for transactions driven by companies’ desire to “acquire data, or to deprive rivals of data.”

The big picture: This enforcement stance represents continuity from the Biden administration’s approach to AI competition oversight.

• Previous antitrust enforcers similarly scrutinized Big Tech partnerships with AI startups and expressed concerns about market concentration.
• A recent federal judge order requiring Google to share search data with competitors, including AI companies, exemplifies the type of intervention the DOJ supports to boost competition.

Open source implications: The administration views truly open-source AI models as a competitive advantage for spreading American technology.

• However, Slater specified that “a truly open-source model must be one that is not unilaterally maintained by a single vendor that exerts unwarranted influence and impose restrictions.”
• This position suggests the DOJ will scrutinize whether companies claiming to offer open-source solutions are actually maintaining unfair control over their platforms.