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President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division testified before the Senate on Wednesday in a confirmation hearing that could shape the future direction of the government’s fight against Big Tech.
If confirmed, Adam Candeub, a longtime telecommunications law scholar and former Federal Communications Commission general counsel, would take control of some of the most consequential antitrust cases in decades, including the Justice Department’s landmark lawsuits targeting Google’s dominance in online search and Apple’s control over the App Store and its rules for developers.
The cases could determine how aggressively the government pursues antitrust cases against the country’s largest technology companies.
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Google logos are seen in this photo illustration together with images of Donald Trump. (Photo by Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
As head of the Antitrust Division, Candeub would oversee those cases and decide whether to continue the Justice Department’s aggressive antitrust efforts against the largest technology companies.
Candeub has emerged as one of the conservative movement’s most prominent critics of Big Tech, arguing that dominant online platforms have accumulated too much power and that regulators have historically overlooked the larger impact of technology companies on competition, speech and public discourse.
“Big Tech’s market power undermines our Nation’s culture of vibrant democratic deliberation,” Candeub testified before Congress in March 2023. “Elon Musk’s Twitter files demonstrated that Big Tech has indeed limited particular groups, including dissenters, from important Government policies from full participation in national political discussions.
“This power to exclude threatens all Americans,” Candeub continued. “Power to silence one group of Americans will be used sooner or later to silence another.”
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WASHINGTON, DC – DECEMBER 21: US Attorney General Bill Barr holds a news conference to provide an update on the investigation of the terrorist bombing of Pan Am flight 103 on the 32nd anniversary of the attack, at the Department of Justice December 21, 2020 in Washington, DC. Barr announced criminal charges against one of the alleged Libyan bombmakers. The bombing occurred on December 21, 1988, killing all 259 people on board and eleven on the ground in Lockerbie, Scotland. (Photo by Michael Reynolds-Pool/Getty Images) (Michael Reynolds-Pool)
Candeub has pushed for changes to Section 230, the federal law that protects online platforms from being held liable for much of the content posted by users. During Trump’s first administration, he served at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, where he helped lead efforts to narrow those legal protections for online platforms under Section 230.
And in his contribution to Project 2025, the conservative policy blueprint developed by the Heritage Foundation for a potential second Trump administration, Candeub argued that antitrust enforcement failed to account for the influence of major technology platforms over competition and the flow of information being shared.
“The large internet platforms have transformed the U.S. economy, streamlining consumer purchases, networking billions of people, and altering long-established business practices,” Candeub wrote. “Despite their enormous size, they have avoided significant antitrust liability or prosecution. The reasons for this are not entirely clear.”
Candeub’s nomination has drawn support from former Justice Department officials, including former Attorney General Bill Barr, who appointed Candeub as an associate deputy attorney general in 2020 during the first Trump administration.
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Barr praised Candeub’s expertise in telecommunications law and his academic background, describing him as a knowledgeable and capable leader for the Antitrust Division.
“I think he’ll be a strong leader, and he’s very knowledgeable,” Barr told Fox News Digital. “I think he’ll be balanced and fair and apply the law.”
Barr is among more than a dozen current and former Justice Department officials who signed a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee supporting Candeub’s nomination. The letter highlighted his experience at the FCC, the Office of the Associate Attorney General, the NTIA and his work as a law professor at Michigan State University.
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“Adam Candeub has the experience and the qualifications to live up to that storied legacy,” the letter stated, arguing that the Antitrust Division’s next leader must be prepared to address the growing challenges posed by technology, social media and artificial intelligence.
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“The Division’s next leader must be able to meet those questions with both intellectual seriousness and practical judgment,” the letter continued. “Mr. Candeub is uniquely qualified to do so.”
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Sen. Dick Durbin said on X that he recently met with Candeub to discuss issues including merger reviews, Section 230 reform and efforts to protect children online.