Jurist recently published a new oped by FSFP Chairman and Senior Legal Adviser Ben Clements on why the Department Of Justice must reject calls for the recently-confirmed Associate Attorney General for Antitrust, Jonathan Kanter, to recuse himself from the Department’s case against Google.

The following is an excerpt from the new piece:

By arguing that an antitrust attorney’s past criticism of and legal action against one of the most powerful global monopolies in history disqualifies him from representing the government’s interests against that monopoly, Google seeks to disqualify the most obviously qualified persons from the job. Indeed, requiring recusal here would set a dangerous precedent enabling powerful corporations to disqualify any number of qualified committed advocates from serving in senior Justice Department roles.

Would the head of the Environment and Natural Resources Division need to step back from a case involving a Chevron pipeline oil spill if they had previously criticized or sued Chevron for polluting? Would the Assistant Attorney General for civil rights, with past experience combatting a state’s voter suppression attempts, need to recuse herself from a case against that state’s continued efforts to restrict the right to vote?

Free Speech For People works to ensure corporations are held accountable under the law as part of the organization’s continuous efforts to challenge unchecked corporate power. Last year, we introduced the Big Tech 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.

“Kanter’s extensive experience and expertise in antitrust and the tech industry, in particular, will prove vital in helping the Antitrust Division hold today’s monopolies, like Google, accountable. The Department of Justice should reject Google’s baseless and self-serving call for Kanter’s recusal,” says Clements.

Read the full piece here.

Learn more about the Big Tech Accountability Act here.