CommonDreams recently published a new oped by FSFP Chairman and Senior Legal Advisor Ben Clements on why the Department Of Justice must reject calls for President Biden’s nominee for Associate Attorney General for Antitrust, Jonathan Kanter, to recuse himself from the Department’s case against Google and other tech titans.

In the new piece, Clements notes that recusal may be warranted if:

• A particular matter affects an official’s financial interests or the interests of their spouse, minor child, or general partner.
• An official has, or has had within the past year, a “covered relationship,” such as lawyer-client or employee-employer, with a person or entity named as a party in a specific matter that would lead a reasonable person to question the official’s impartiality in the matter.
• Other circumstances exist (apart from a financial conflict of interest or a covered relationship) that would lead a reasonable person to question the official’s impartiality.

“Even if one or more of these grounds exist, recusal is not automatic. Instead, with respect to a financial interest under section 208, the official may participate in the particular matter if they disclose the financial interest to their appointing official ‘and receive in advance a written determination made by such official that the interest is not so substantial as to be deemed likely to affect the integrity of the services which the Government may expect from’ the official,” says Clements.

Since our founding, Free Speech For People has been a leading force in the country taking on unchecked corporate power. The organization recently introduced the Digital Accountability Act, a uniquely bold and comprehensive proposal to hold social media companies accountable for amplifying disinformation and violence through their online platforms. This model legislation would also protect online personal privacy and freedom against commercial exploitation by tech companies.

“The fight to prevent modern day monopolies from consolidating control of the digital economy is one of the most urgent challenges facing the Biden administration today. Modernizing the government’s approach to antitrust enforcement is key to that effort and Mr. Kanter’s leadership and expertise will be essential to its success,” says Clements.

Read the full piece here.

Learn more about the Digital Accountability Act here.