In another move to counter the dominance of major Silicon Valley firms, a prominent critic of Big Tech, Jonathan Kanter, has been tipped by President Joe Biden on Tuesday to head the Department of Justice’s antitrust division.  

Kanter, a lawyer who has represented firms challenging tech platforms, would if confirmed head up the division to handle an array of cases expected against the largest tech firms for alleged monopoly abuses.

The nomination of Kanter follows the appointment of Lina Khan, an advocate of breaking up the biggest tech firms, to head the Federal Trade Commission, which is also involved in antitrust enforcement.

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A White House statement called Kanter “a leading advocate and expert in the effort to promote strong and meaningful antitrust enforcement and competition policy.”

Kanter, a former FTC lawyer, has represented firms such as Yelp and Spotify which have claimed tech giants such as Google and Apple have used unfair practices to thwart competition. He also represented the News Media Alliance in claims that large platforms have stymied media firms.

He recently started his own “boutique antitrust law firm that advocates in favour of federal and state antitrust law enforcement,” according to the White House.

Early indications from the Biden administration suggest a ramped-up effort at antitrust enforcement, amid calls by some to break up some of the biggest and most successful Big Tech firms.

Biden earlier this month unveiled a wide-ranging plan aimed at tilting the balance of power away from corporations and towards “the little guy.”

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Biden described the initiative as a shift from what he called Washington’s 40-year “experiment of letting giant corporations accumulate more and more power” as he signed an executive order directing changes on everything from the sale of hearing aids to the disclosure of airline baggage fees.

“We have to get back to an economy that grows from the bottom up,” he said.

The order, which has been praised by consumer advocates but slammed by certain business lobbying organisations, lays out 72 programmes throughout the federal government and establishes the White House Competition Council to track progress.