The new antitrust head for the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is aiming to stop mergers that thwart competition and is planning to enforce remedies rather settlements, Financial Times reported.
Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust Jonathan Kanter said in a speech on Monday (Jan. 24) that his department will be looking to block mergers that will weaken competition rather than agreeing to complicated settlement deals.
“In short, we will pursue remedies — not settlements. We cannot compromise if there is a violation of the law,” Kanter said, per FT.
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Prior to being appointed to the DOJ, Kanter represented anticompetitive complaints against Google on behalf of Yelp, Microsoft and others, PYMNTS reported. He also worked for a firm representing Amazon, Mastercard and Uber on antitrust issues.
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The DOJ’s stricter posture comes as the Biden Administration steps up enforcement of anticompetitive behavior and aligns with the president’s appointments of progressives like Kanter and Linda Kahn, who is head of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
Kanter’s speech also dovetails with Microsoft’s $75 billion acquisition of video gaming company Activision Blizzard, which became public just before the DOJ and the FTC announced they were seeking public input on mergers. Merger deals have doubled from 2020 to 2021 according to both agencies. A program aimed at strengthening the cooperation between antitrust agencies is in the works.
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He also said there have been few antitrust suits brought by the department, with a 20-year gap between big cases. Antitrust hasn’t kept up with changes in the economy, including the influence of big technology firms and their collection of people’s personal data, Kanter said, according to FT.
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The American Innovation and Choice Online Act is pending a vote before the full Senate. The proposed legislation would aim to stop behavior that stifles competition. Tech firms have argued that the law would kill innovation and put privacy and security at risk.