🪄 Biden nominates even more antitrust personnel

The federal government has taken a hit in its antitrust game in recent weeks--notably from a federal judge throwing out its case against Facebook, but the Biden administration is striking back. 

• Biden named a major appointee to the Justice Department: The nominee is Jonathan Kanter, the principal of a firm that labels itself an “antitrust advocacy boutique” and who has represented companies like Yelp and Spotify. He joins notable antitrust activists Lina Khan and Tim Wu as Biden appointees, assuming Kanter is approved by the Senate. 

• The decision is partially about timing: According to the NYT, it’s a sign that the Justice Department and the Biden Administration do not have much faith in Congressional action toward Big Tech and need to push for change themselves. 

A huge challenge remains

No matter how much emphasis the Justice Department puts on antitrust, it will likely have to wait for at least some Congressional action. Experts say lawsuits might keep getting thrown out, a la Facebook, if legislation doesn’t change some of the thresholds for what constitutes an antitrust behavior.

The Verdict

There’s another way Biden may try picking up the pace on antitrust: nominating federal judges more sympathetic to his cause.