Honestly, if you thought the "Great Tech Crackdown" was finally settling into a predictable rhythm, yesterday changed the vibe completely. It's Saturday, January 17, 2026, and the legal teams at Google and the Trump administration have basically ensured that nobody in D.C. or Silicon Valley is getting a weekend off.
We’ve got a massive appeal in the search monopoly case, a brand-new lawsuit from The Atlantic that looks particularly nasty, and a White House energy policy that’s putting Big Tech on notice about their power-hungry AI data centers. It’s a lot.
Google’s Friday Night Hail Mary
Late Friday night, Google officially filed its appeal against Judge Amit Mehta’s ruling in the landmark U.S. v. Google search case. This is the big one. If you remember, back in August 2024, Mehta ruled that Google held an illegal monopoly. But here’s the kicker: the "remedies" he finally settled on in December were actually seen as a win for Google. No forced sale of Chrome. No spinning off Android. Just some data-sharing requirements.
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So why appeal a "slap on the wrist"?
Because Google doesn't want to share its data. Period. Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google’s VP of Regulatory Affairs, posted that the mandates "risk Americans’ privacy" and would actually stop competitors from building their own tech. It’s a classic "don't fix it or you'll break the internet" argument. By appealing now, Google is likely trying to freeze the implementation of those data-sharing rules, potentially dragging this out deep into 2026 or 2027.
The Atlantic Joins the Fray
While Google was busy at the appeals court, The Atlantic decided to throw a punch of its own. They filed a federal antitrust lawsuit (Case No. 1:26-cv-00272) in New York, claiming Google’s ad tech monopoly basically cheated them out of billions in revenue over the last decade.
The metaphors in this 94-page complaint are wild. One Google employee is quoted saying Google owning both sides of the ad market is like if "Goldman or Citibank owned the NYSE." The Atlantic is leaning hard on a different court ruling—Judge Leonie Brinkema’s April 2025 decision—which found Google’s ad tech practices were, in fact, "willfully anticompetitive."
This isn't just a legal spat. It's an old-school prestige publication fighting for its life against the plumbing of the internet.
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Trump's Grid War: The AI Power Problem
Then there’s the White House. The Trump administration just called for an emergency auction for wholesale electricity. They’re targeting PJM Interconnection, the nation’s largest grid operator.
The goal? Force Big Tech companies to sign 15-year contracts for new power plants. Basically, if companies like Microsoft and Amazon want to build massive AI data centers that suck up all the local power, the administration wants them to pay for the construction of the new power plants themselves—whether they use the juice or not.
White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers framed it as preventing blackouts and price hikes for regular people. It’s a fascinating pivot. One day the administration is deregulating AI to "beat China," and the next, they're telling Big Tech they can’t just hog the nation’s electricity grid for free.
What Most People Get Wrong About Tech Policy News Today
A lot of folks think "deregulation" means a free pass for Silicon Valley. That’s not what’s happening. What we’re seeing is a shift in how they're being squeezed.
- Federal vs. State: The White House is trying to stop states like California and Colorado from passing their own strict AI laws. They want one federal rulebook. But while they're doing that, they're getting aggressive on the "physical" side of tech—energy, land use, and trade.
- The "Agentic" Shift: Regulators aren't just worried about chatbots anymore. They’re obsessed with "agentic AI"—systems that can actually do things like move money or execute code. This is why the SEC’s Division of Examinations has made AI-driven threats a top focus for the 2026 fiscal year.
- Consumer Safety is the New Antitrust: We’re seeing a flood of bipartisan bills like the "Safe Bots Act" and the "Kids Online Safety Act" (KOSA). It’s getting harder for tech companies to lobby against "protecting the children," even if the bills are technically messy.
What You Should Actually Do
If you’re running a business or just trying to keep your data safe, the "wait and see" approach for tech policy news today is officially dead.
First, check your AI "identity." If you use chatbots for customer service, New York and California now have laws kicking in mid-2026 that require you to tell people—loud and clear—that they aren't talking to a human. Failing to do this can cost you $1,000 to $5,000 per violation.
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Second, watch your energy bills. If you’re in a state with a high density of data centers (looking at you, Virginia and Ohio), these federal "energy auctions" might actually start showing up on your corporate utility costs.
Lastly, don't assume Google's "win" in the remedy phase is permanent. The appeal from the DOJ side is still looming, and if the appeals court decides Judge Mehta was too soft, structural breakups could be back on the table by the end of the year.
Next steps for you:
- Audit your AI disclosures: Ensure any "synthetic" content or performers are labeled by June to meet New York’s new S8420A requirements.
- Review data-sharing protocols: If you rely on Google's search API, keep a close eye on the stay of the "Mehta remedies." You might get access to more raw data than ever—or none at all if the stay is granted.
- Monitor the CCCA: The Credit Card Competition Act is moving toward a Senate vote. If you handle retail payments, this could significantly lower your interchange fees by forcing competition on payment networks.
The "move fast and break things" era is being replaced by the "move fast and get sued" era. Stay sharp.