Monday, July 6, 2009
Hell of a Way to Get Out of Your AT&T Contract, Varney…
Earlier this year, Christine Varney, the new antitrust chief at the Department of Justice, said she planned to return the DOJ to a policy that led to landmark antitrust suits like the one against Microsoft in the ’90s. And she delivered on that promise in short order. Since her confirmation in late April, the DOJ has seen a sort of Trustbuster renaissance. It has begun inquiring into potentially anticompetitive recruiting practices in Silicon Valley. It’s opened an investigation into the Google Books settlement. And now it’s scrutinizing cellphone exclusivity deals, like the lucrative one between Apple and AT&T.
When Assistant Attorney General Christine Varney said she plans to take a more aggressive approach to antitrust enforcement, she wasn’t kidding. Under her leadership the US Department of Justice has opened an investigation into the recruiting practices at Google, Apple, Yahoo, and Genentech, among others.
Christine Varney, head of the Justice Department’s antitrust division, famously referred to Microsoft’s monopoly as “so last century.” In her mind, it’s Google we need to watch out for. “[Microsoft is] not the problem,” she said. “I think we’re going to continue to see a problem, potentially, with Google.” And apparently European Commissioner for Competition Neelie Kroes agrees. 
