To litigate or to settle — that is the question.

As the Trump administration reviews major antitrust cases against five of America’s largest tech companies, it must decide how to enforce competition laws while preserving U.S. innovation and global competitiveness, especially in light of China’s strength.

A measured approach seems most likely — and wisest. Precedent, policy and the president’s own statements suggest that the administration will seek to enforce the antitrust laws vigorously but in a manner that allows these companies to continue to innovate and compete internationally.

To set the stage, the Biden administration sought to smash apart America’s leading tech companies with an almost messianic zeal. The Federal Trade Commission sought to unwind Meta’s acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp, deals that closed a decade ago and were reviewed at the time;.

Having prevailed at trial in its search lawsuit on fairly narrow grounds, the Department of Justice wanted to force Google to divest its Chrome browser, and possibly its Android operating system — business units that have almost no relation to the underlying antitrust violation — and to severely restrict Google’s ability to contract with other companies over the next decade, a stance that has drawn a rebuke from Apple (another lawsuit, regarding Google’s advertising technology, is awaiting judgment).

Amid rumors that the FTC was investigating Microsoft’s competitive practices in the artificial intelligence space, the FTC continued to pursue administrative hearings to reverse

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