Brown: “It is encouraging to see Jonathan Kanter forced to answer tough questions for the damage he is doing to the United States’ competitiveness…”

WASHINGTON – Following testimony from Department of Justice (DOJ) Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division Jonathan Kanter before the House Judiciary Committee’s Antitrust Subcommittee, Competitiveness Coalition Chair Scott Brown issued the following statement:

“It is encouraging to see Jonathan Kanter forced to answer tough questions for the damage he is doing to the United States’ competitiveness, and Chairman Thomas Massie deserves great credit for convening today’s hearing and making that possible,” said Brown, a former U.S. Senator and Ambassador to New Zealand. “Along with Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan, Kanter is part of a wild-eyed crew of so-called antitrust activists focused on weaponizing the levers of faceless government agencies in pursuit of an extreme left-wing agenda. Their utter disregard for decades of legal precedents, such as the consumer welfare standard, and desire to destroy our flourishing technology sector sends the wrong message to our innovators at a time when our geopolitical rivals seek to supersede us in emerging areas such as AI, high-tech manufacturing, quantum computing and more. The subcommittee is to be applauded for holding Kanter’s feet to the fire and we encourage other important congressional panels to follow their lead.”

Under questioning from Subcommittee Ranking Member Lou Correa (D-CA), Kanter confirmed the Justice Department sent an “observer” to Europe after the European Union passed the Digital Markets Act. The law, described by The Wall Street Journal editorial board as similar to Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s (D-MN) American Innovation & Choice Online Act, is billed as helping European startups and companies compete with American tech firms, “though Chinese companies like ByteDance may turn out to be the biggest beneficiaries.” 

The Competitiveness Coalition strongly encourages members of Congress to carry out their constitutionally-mandated duty of providing oversight and ensuring that American competitiveness remains unrivaled across the world. 

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The Competitiveness Coalition is a first-of-its-kind group educating the public and advocating for policies that put consumers first while fostering innovation and attracting new investment.