Biden nominates Jonathan Kanter, a long-time foe of Google, to become the DOJ's antitrust chief
myself included—viewed their roles as a means of placating anti-tech progressives. Wait to see who Biden elevates to FTC Chair, and to lead Antitrust at DOJ, etc. Turns out he means it. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... Mondaire Jones / @mondairejones : Jonathan Kanter is a superb choice to lead the Antitrust Division. @POTUS continues to distinguish himself as a trust-busting president intent on creating a fair economy for all Americans. https://www.bloomberg.com/... David Cicilline / @davidcicilline : Once again, President Biden is following through on his promise to fight for working families and create an economy that works for everyone. Jonathan Kanter is absolutely the right person to take on corporate monopolies and lead the Antitrust Division at this critical moment. https://twitter.com/... Kara Swisher / @karaswisher : The law firm of Wu + Khan + Kanter is now complete: of Biden to nominate Big Tech adversary Kanter to helm the Justice Dept.'s antitrust division https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... Matt Stoller / @matthewstoller : Among establishment antitrust lawyers, Kanter stands out for his skepticism towards big tech. Quite an extraordinary pick, but also consistent with the political times. Brian Fung / @b_fung : Biden has announced he'll nominate Jonathan Kanter to lead DOJ's antitrust division, in another potential blow for Silicon Valley. Kanter has represented some of Big Tech's most vocal critics in DC, making his nomination a warning sign for the industry. @bpolitics : Biden plans to nominate Jonathan Kanter as head of the Justice Department's antitrust division, the latest sign that the administration is preparing a broad crackdown on large tech companies https://www.bloomberg.com/... Will Oremus / @willoremus : Huge news for the “break up Big Tech” movement. https://twitter.com/...
The subsequent record gives the nomination its weight: Kanter described a DOJ focused on tighter merger enforcement, and later extended its competition scrutiny to AI, cloud, data and GPUs. The move therefore signaled a durable change in the division’s priorities, not a one-off rebuke of Google.
First-order effects
Kanter becomes Biden’s intended head of the DOJ Antitrust Division, subject to Senate confirmation, putting an established Google opponent in position to direct the division’s enforcement agenda.
Google faces a prospective top antitrust official whose prior legal work included anti-Google cases, raising the salience of the company’s conduct for DOJ leadership.
Second-order effects
Companies pursuing mergers face a DOJ leadership team that later made clamping down on mergers an explicit agency goal, increasing the importance of antitrust risk in deal planning.
Other large technology platforms must account for an Antitrust Division whose remit under Kanter later reached competitive choke points across AI, cloud, data and GPUs, rather than being confined to a single company.
Third-order effects
If this enforcement posture persists, competition policy shifts from evaluating individual technology markets in isolation toward examining control over the infrastructure and data layers that shape market access.
The pattern points to antitrust leadership becoming a more material constraint on Big Tech’s expansion through acquisition and vertically connected platforms.
The trend: US antitrust enforcement is broadening from scrutiny of dominant consumer platforms toward the infrastructure choke points that govern digital competition.
Just an fyi. Jonathan Kanter is a widely respected antitrust attorney. Yes many of the new anti-monopoly groups like him, but his career goes back decades.
Jonathan Kanter's nomination to lead @TheJusticeDept's Antitrust Division is tremendous news for workers and consumers. He's been a leader in the fight to check consolidated corporate power and strengthen competition in our markets. https://www.bloomberg.com/...
WGAW applauds another outstanding appointment by the Biden Administration, Jonathan Kanter for DOJ #Antitrust Chief. With today's announcement and the groundbreaking recent executive order aimed at stopping corporate monopolies, this should be a new dawn of antitrust enforcement!…
Jonathan Kanter is a superb choice to lead the Antitrust Division. @POTUS continues to distinguish himself as a trust-busting president intent on creating a fair economy for all Americans. https://www.bloomberg.com/...
Back when Tim Wu and Lina Khan were first announced, lots of people—myself included—viewed their roles as a means of placating anti-tech progressives. Wait to see who Biden elevates to FTC Chair, and to lead Antitrust at DOJ, etc. Turns out he means it. https://www.washingtonpost…
One thing Biden has been excellent as President is on his appointments in terms of anti-Trust and fighting monopolies and predatory practices. This is a welcome addition. And 40 years overdue. https://twitter.com/...
Once again, President Biden is following through on his promise to fight for working families and create an economy that works for everyone. Jonathan Kanter is absolutely the right person to take on corporate monopolies and lead the Antitrust Division at this critical moment. htt…
The law firm of Wu + Khan + Kanter is now complete: of Biden to nominate Big Tech adversary Kanter to helm the Justice Dept.'s antitrust division https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
Among establishment antitrust lawyers, Kanter stands out for his skepticism towards big tech. Quite an extraordinary pick, but also consistent with the political times.
Biden has announced he'll nominate Jonathan Kanter to lead DOJ's antitrust division, in another potential blow for Silicon Valley. Kanter has represented some of Big Tech's most vocal critics in DC, making his nomination a warning sign for the industry.
Biden plans to nominate Jonathan Kanter as head of the Justice Department's antitrust division, the latest sign that the administration is preparing a broad crackdown on large tech companies https://www.bloomberg.com/...