The U.S. Justice Department reportedly has put off a decision on whether to charge Apple Inc. and Google LLC with antitrust violations, despite originally aiming to wrap up its long-running probes of the two tech giants by Dec. 31.

A report by Politico today cites two people familiar with the DOJ’s discussions as saying the probes into Apple’s App Store and Google’s dominance of the online advertising market face financial complications as a result of the delay of U.S. President Joe Biden’s social spending bill.

The decision on whether or not to take Apple and Google to court is now expected to be made in March 2022 or later, thanks to ongoing discussions over where to file and who will make the actual call, the sources told Politico.

One of the concerns is the likely expense of a court battle against the two companies, which both have a market value of more than $1 trillion. The issue was complicated this week Sen. Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia) declined to support the Democrats’ Build Back Better bill, which would have boosted the DOJ’s antitrust enforcement budget by about $500 million.

Although Biden has vowed to attempt to get the bill passed anyway, the DOJ is now reportedly weighing up whether the antitrust cases can proceed with its current level of funding, though it could yet secure additional cash in other upcoming legislative packages, Politico said. The sources insisted, however, the decisions would be based on legal merit.

The DOJ has been scrutinizing Apple’s lucrative App Store and Google’s advertising business since 2019. Politico said it has already drafted an antitrust complaint focused on Google’s dominance of technology used to buy and sell online ads that fund many websites. The complaint is said to be similar to a separate one filed by attorneys general in Texas and other states last year, albeit with some differences.

As for Apple, the DOJ has been examining its control over the ecosystem of iPhone and iPad apps. Its attorneys reportedly attended a trial between Apple and Epic Games Inc. that concluded with a partial victory for Epic in September, in an effort to learn something that may help their own case. Epic Games, maker of the popular online game Fortnite, sued Apple over its App Store terms of service, which mandate that all in-app purchases must be processed through the company’s own payment system, therefore ensuring it can take a slice of those revenues.

Politico said the DOJ still needs to decide whether Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust Jonathan Kanter must recuse himself from the cases because of his previous work for critics of both companies. As such, it isn’t clear yet who will make the final call on whether to file a lawsuit against them.

Photo: Ezequiel_Octaviano/Pixabay