Gail Slater Resigns as Head of Justice Department’s Antitrust Division

Gail Slater, the leader of the Justice Department’s antitrust division, resigned on Thursday. Reports suggest he faced diminishing support from significant figures within the administration. During his term, Slater approved several mergers involving Disney while simultaneously blocking American companies from competing against China’s Huawei.

As noted earlier, Slater’s departure came at the conclusion of a term marked by a high-profile antitrust case against Google. This effort, though well-publicized, ultimately failed to dismantle the tech giant or impose any penalties that would be considered meaningful by observers.

Slater had faced criticism, notably from intelligence officials during the Trump administration, over his decision to block the HPE-Juniper merger, which they argued would disadvantage American interests by empowering Huawei. Despite these concerns, he approved mergers involving companies like Disney, often described as “woke.” His stance on the scrutinized merger between Netflix and Warner Bros. remains unclear.

Before his role at the Justice Department, Slater was involved in the “Transatlantic High-Level Working Group on Online Content Moderation” led by the Annenberg Center for Public Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. This working group has ties to several influential organizations, such as the Stanford Cyber Policy Center and the German Marshall Fund, which has been involved in controversial activities, including labeling certain political supporters as foreign operatives.

The working group advocated for measures to curb what it terms “disinformation” and harmful online content. They praised tech companies for removing apps that reportedly spread misinformation and for taking down misleading tweets from well-known leaders, suggesting that these platforms acknowledge their responsibilities concerning the content they host.

Some left-leaning commentators have suggested that Slater struggled against corporate lobbying efforts. A report indicated that he was unable to overcome the influence of lobbyists with deep ties to monopolistic practices.

In contrast to Slater’s track record of approving significant mergers, such as those involving Disney, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has challenged companies like Disney for potentially anti-competitive practices, emphasizing the need for scrutiny in deals involving major corporations.