The Justice Department’s antitrust chief defends an aggressive stance against anticompetitive practices

The antitrust chief of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on Tuesday defended his aggressive stance against large corporations trying to assert their market dominance, saying his duty is to the American people, who are legally protected from the anticompetitive actions of the companies they enrich.

“My name is Jonathan Kanter, and I represent the people of the United States of America,” he said at an antitrust summit sponsored by the American Economic Liberties Project. He added that the Antitrust Division he leads has amassed an “unprecedented history of action” in challenging what he called anticompetitive mergers and monopolizing activities.

“In the past, the Antitrust Division’s enforcement of antitrust laws was sometimes defined by what it did not do or what parts of the law it chose not to enforce,” said Kanter, an assistant U.S. attorney general. “Today’s Antitrust Division defines itself by the actions it takes to enforce the law on behalf of the American people, when supported by the facts and the law.”

The Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released new merger guidance last year, which Kanter called a “transformational and game-changing” policy statement that provided transparency to the public. The guidelines focus on vertical mergers, roll-up acquisitions and consolidations that harm the labor market.

However, Kanter said the measure of success is “whether our framework leads to tangible results for our clients. My client is the American people.”

Kanter added that the department’s aggressive oversight led to the abandonment of more than 30 anticompetitive mergers, including in industries that impact the supply chain. The waiver came because of the chilling effect of the Justice Department’s strong legal arguments in court against companies like Google and Apple, he said.

Kanter cited the Justice Department’s successful 2022 opposition to the proposed merger of publishing giants Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster – a consolidation that would reduce financial rewards for authors seeking maximum return on their work.

“These are not widgets. Books are not widgets. Ideas are not widgets,” Kanter said.

“It’s not just about dollars and cents, although that does matter to our wallets,” he added. “It’s about a marketplace of ideas. This is about the currency of our democracy, the information that drives public discourse.”

Kanter said the Antitrust Division deals with anticompetitiveness in the digital marketplace. He cited the department’s lawsuit against Apple, arguing that smartphone monopolization made iPhones less innovative.

“The law does not allow innovation in the digital ecosystem to be stifled just to protect monopoly power,” Kanter said. – That’s why we took action.

The Justice Department’s lawsuit against Google is now in the hands of U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta, who is considering the agency’s claim that the company engaged in unlawful exclusionary conduct to protect its dominance in online search and advertising. Mehta’s ruling in the U.S. District Court in Washington is expected in the coming months.

“Our team expertly handled one of the most important antitrust cases in decades,” Kanter said of the Google case. “The Antitrust Division sends a strong message to U.S. monopolists: If you break the law, you will face a powerful opponent in court.”

He also addressed numerous convictions and resolutions issued by the department over the past two and a half years. “When enforcement matters, antitrust laws are no longer a suggestion,” Kanter said. “In the United States, antitrust laws will again become a requirement in 2024.”

From: National Legal Journal