patrick.net

Attorney General William Barr has spent months taking greater control of the Justice Department's antitrust probes into the big tech companies, a development that could increase the peril for major players like Google and Facebook. ...

Some Silicon Valley critics see cause for optimism in Barr’s increasing sway over the tech probes, noting that he has had a wealth of antitrust experience as an attorney for companies like Time Warner and Verizon — both major rivals of the dominant online platforms. ...

Barr, who at age 69 is serving his second stint as U.S attorney general, also has few deterrents to waging an aggressive attack, said Hal Singer, an antitrust economist and adjunct professor at Georgetown University's business school. “Barr doesn't need future gigs so he can pursue the tech platforms without worry about his future income," Singer said.

Barr indicated during his confirmation hearing last year that antitrust would be one of his priorities.

“I think a lot of people wonder how such huge behemoths that now exist in Silicon Valley have taken shape under the nose of the antitrust enforcers,” he told senators.