Skip to main content

Google could face legal action for ITA Software acquisition

Google-ITALast summer, Google made moves to acquire ITA Software, which makes the software that dozens of airlines and ticket sites use to make online reservations. Naturally, competitors took issue with the deal, and responded by creating FairSearch, to lobby the public and Department of Justice into stopping Google’s travel search scheme.

Yesterday, Bloomberg reported that Google may have an antitrust lawsuit courtesy of the US Justice Department on its hands. “According to people familiar with the situation,” it hasn’t been decided whether the government will block the $700 million dollar acquisition, or sue Google for it.

Recommended Videos

When rumblings of government intervention first started surfacing, Google’s legal team decided to try its luck and invoke  federal law that demands the Justice Department decide in 30 days whether or not it will take action against a deal. According to the Washington Post, Google feels it has sufficiently cooperated with government investigators, which has potentially set the stage for a court case. Bloomberg also reports government lawyers cancelled plans over the holidays to work on a case against the search titan.

Google is standing by its original statement, claiming the ITA deal will not result in squashing competitors. “While we continue to cooperate with the Justine Department’s review, we are ultimately confident that this acquisition will increase competition,” a Google spokesman told Bloomberg. In fact, Google has pledged that if it does acquire ITA, it will distribute ITA software to its competitors, which include Microsoft, Expedia, Orbitz, Kayak, and Travelocity, among others.

Google has consistently been challenged on its acquisitions, particularly in the last year. The company seemingly went on a shopping spree, scooping up companies like AdMob and DoubleClick. Despite consumer complaints, international scrutiny, and FTC investigations, Google walked away with both. It’s liable to this time as well: The Washington Post points out that the government has traditionally been wary of blocking acquisitions between non-competitors, which Google and ITA are (according to anti-trust experts). In lieu of a full-blown court case, it’s more likely Google will see a slap on the wrist and increased restrictions or government surveillance over the deal.

Molly McHugh
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Before coming to Digital Trends, Molly worked as a freelance writer, occasional photographer, and general technical lackey…
Dell slashed the price of the Alienware m18 R2 gaming laptop with RTX 4080 by $420
The Alienware m18 R2 gaming laptop with Baldur's Gate 3 on the screen.

You should be on the lookout for gaming laptop deals if you're thinking about making an upgrade -- these devices are pretty expensive, so any discount will help cushion the blow on your wallet. Here's an offer from Dell to consider: a $420 discount for the powerful Alienware m18 R2 with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 graphics card, which reduces its price to $2,380 from $2,800. You can either pocket the savings or use them to buy more video games and accessories, but you need to act fast because there's a chance that the gaming laptop's price will be back to normal as soon as tomorrow.

Why you should buy the Alienware m18 R2 gaming laptop
The Alienware m18 R2 makes a run at the best gaming laptops with top-of-the-line specifications and a striking design. In addition to the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 graphics card, which our gaming laptop buying guide says is among the top-tier GPUs, the machine is equipped with the 14th-generation Intel Core i9 processor and 32GB of RAM that's the sweet spot for high-end gamers, according to our guide on how much RAM do you need. You'll be able to play the best PC games at their most demanding settings on the Alienware m18 R2, and you'll even be prepared for the upcoming PC games of the next few years.

Read more
The competition between AMD and Nvidia is finally heating up
Two RTX 4070 Ti Super graphics cards sitting next to each other.

Nvidia opened this year with two of the best graphics cards, but AMD largely stayed silent. Now, for the first time in 2025, the competition will start heating up. Yesterday, Nvidia announced the release date for its next GPU, the RTX 5070 Ti. AMD immediately struck back with an important announcement about the RX 9070 XT. Here's what we know.
Nvidia's RTX 5070 Ti is almost here
Nvidia's RTX 5070 Ti is right around the corner, and it marks yet another win for leakers who predicted the release date correctly. Set to arrive on February 20, the GPU will start at $749, but realistically, finding one at MSRP (recommended list price) might be tough. Prices aside, the RTX 5070 Ti will feature 8,960 CUDA cores, a boost clock of up to 2.45GHz, and 16GB of GDDR7 VRAM across a 256-bit memory bus alongside a 300-watt TGP.

https://x.com/NVIDIAGeForce/status/1890038221314077048

Read more
Meta’s next big bet might be AI humanoid robots for at-home chores
Figure 02 autonomous humanoid robot.

What’s next for Meta? The social media giant’s interests have swayed wildly over the past few years. Phones, crypto, tablets, metaverse, smart glasses, and finally, AI. The next avenue for Meta is apparently humanoid robots.

According to Bloomberg, the company is pouring resources into the development of AI-powered humanoid robots. “Meta plans to work on its own humanoid robot hardware, with an initial focus on household chores,” says the report.

Read more