Biden picks Google foe to lead DOJ antitrust as it mulls plan to break up Big Tech

President Joe Biden today said he will nominate Jonathan Kanter to be the assistant attorney general in charge of the Department of Justice's antitrust division. Kanter is an attorney known for his criticism of Google and will take over the antitrust division as it considers a Biden plan to reverse harmful mergers and break up monopolies.Kanter "is a distinguished antitrust lawyer with over 20 years of experience" and has been "a leading advocate and expert in the effort to promote strong and meaningful antitrust enforcement and competition policy," the White House announcement said.US Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) applauded the nomination in a statement. His deep legal experience and history of advocating for aggressive action make him an excellent choice to lead the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division," Klobuchar said.Kanter founded the Kanter Law Group, described by the White House as a "boutique antitrust law firm that advocates in favor of federal and state antitrust law enforcement." The firm's website says that Kanter represents clients before the Department of Justice, Federal Trade Commission, Congress, and state attorneys general. These kinds of practices starve content providers of revenue and chill investment in content creation.Biden's recent executive order encouraged the DOJ and FTC "to enforce the antitrust laws vigorously" and to "challenge prior bad mergers that past administrations did not previously challenge," the White House said.As head of the antitrust division, Kanter would decide whether to file lawsuits against companies such as Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Apple, all of which are facing congressional scrutiny with Democrats proposing stronger antitrust rules that could break up Big Tech companies.