President Joe Biden’s pick to lead the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, liberal Big Tech critic Jonathan Kanter, received bipartisan support for his confirmation during a Senate hearing Wednesday.
Kanter’s confirmation is expected in the coming weeks and would signify a major step by Biden to rein in Big Tech companies. It comes after Biden nominated vocal anti-monopolist Lina Khan to lead the Federal Trade Commission and announced an executive action earlier this summer to foster more competitiveness in the U.S. economy, particularly the tech industry.
“I’ve been a strong proponent of vigorous antitrust enforcement in the technology area among others,” Kanter said during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Wednesday.
Republican Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Chuck Grassley of Iowa indicated their support for his nomination.
“I intend to support your nomination. I don’t know if my staff know that, but you do,” Tillis said during the hearing.
Grassley also supported Kanter, saying he looked forward to talking to Kanter about how to tackle the tech industry’s monopoly power.
As an antitrust lawyer, Kanter has previously represented companies, such as Yelp and Microsoft, that have accused Google of unfair and anti-competitive behavior. He has also worked for a firm representing Amazon, Uber, and Mastercard on antitrust issues.
This background could provide grounds for tech giants — such as Google, Amazon, and Uber — to ask him to recuse himself from antitrust cases involving their companies due to conflicts of interest.
Nevertheless, if confirmed by the Senate, Kanter is expected to go after illegal monopolies aggressively and stop anti-competitive mergers, particularly within the tech industry.
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“We’re at a critical moment in antitrust” due to anti-competitive behavior in various industries, said Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar, chairwoman of the Senate antitrust panel, adding that the problem requires “the courage to take on the most powerful companies the world has ever seen … Jonathan Kanter possesses the skills to do this.”
