Former U.S. Attorney/Deputy Assistant AG/Constitutional lawyer @harrylitman pens a piece yesterday addressing gov't moves against tech. Among the issues he raises... 1/6

"According to various news reports, the department is already drafting an antitrust complaint against Google and interviewing lawyers to prosecute the case. That’s after only a year of investigation, which is actually warp speed in terms of bringing an antitrust complaint." 2/6

"Yet it’s unclear what theory the department would pursue. The Federal Trade Commission, which also has antitrust jurisdiction, looked closely at possible antitrust charges against Google in 2013 and concluded there was no basis to bring a case." 3/6

"However, the department would need to prove the company’s market power is monopolistic and that it has an adverse effect on consumers, such as exorbitant advertising fees or a reduction in the quality of information available to consumers." 4/6

"Trying to break up Google, Facebook or Twitter, in fact, hobbles the prosecution because it could give rise to a 1st Amendment defense." 5/6

"These internet giants could argue that if it were somehow proven that they had created politically biased algorithms, it would violate the Constitution for the department to prosecute them on the basis of their anti-conservative viewpoint." https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2020-06-25/willima-barr-vote-by-mail-antitrust-google-department-of-justice 6/6