Biden nominates big-tech critic Jonathan Kanter as DOJ’s antitrust chief
Veteran antitrust lawyer Jonathan Kanter was nominated today by President Biden to lead the antitrust division of the Department of Justice.
That will come as another blow to big tech, following Lina Khan being made chair of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission in June. Khan has a history of criticizing what she sees as out-of-control tech monopolies, which mirrors the work Kanter has been doing for decades.
Prior to that, in May, Biden appointed Columbia University law professor Tim Wu to the National Economic Council. Wu has also been an outspoken adversary of tech behemoths. If enough guns weren’t already positioned in front of big tech, in June Biden signed off on an executive order designed to increase competition in the U.S. and limit the powers of business monopolies.
As for Kanter, much of his time in the past has been dedicated to representing smaller companies on antitrust issues when going up against the likes of Google LLC and Facebook Inc. His Washington D.C.-based Kanter Law Group calls itself “An Antitrust Advocacy Boutique.”
Before that, he worked as co-chair on antitrust at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton, and Garrison LLP. During the Clinton administration, he worked as an attorney at the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Competition.
“Jonathan Kanter is a distinguished antitrust lawyer with over 20 years of experience,” the White House said in a press release. “Throughout his career, Kanter has also been a leading advocate and expert in the effort to promote strong and meaningful antitrust enforcement and competition policy.”
The Senate will first have to give its approval of the nomination. If it does, it’s reported that he will be focused on a lawsuit that was filed last year that claimed Google has engaged in anticompetitive behavior regarding its online search engine. At the time, the lawsuit was called “a landmark case against the tech giant.”
Senator Elizabeth Warren, who for a long time has been calling for the breakup of big tech, seems pleased with the appointment. She said it was “tremendous news” for workers and consumers, adding, “He’s been a leader in the fight to check consolidated corporate power and strengthen competition in our markets.” Senator Amy Klobuchar, current head of the antitrust subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee, said Kanter was an “excellent choice.”
Photo: New America/Flickr
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