Truth Cartels? The DOJ’s Misguided Leap into Viewpoint Regulation
In a surprising move, the U.S. Justice Department’s (DOJ) Antitrust Division has thrown its weight behind a lawsuit that could reshape how courts—and antitrust enforcers—think about competition in digital media. The agency’s statement of interest filed last month in Children’s Health Defense v. Washington Post doesn’t merely take up the legal merits of a questionable claim, but signals a distinct philosophical shift, with the DOJ now arguing that the Sherman Antitrust Act can and should protect “viewpoint diversity” in news markets.
This is a dangerous turn. If accepted, the theory would transform the Sherman Act into a regulatory tool for adjudicating ideological disputes, exposing publishers and platforms to antitrust liability for “suppressing” dissenting views. That’s not competition law; it’s compelled distribution masquerading as enforcement. As the Wall Street Journal’s editorial board rightly put it: “curating information is now an antitrust violation.”
Moreover, the risk isn’t merely legal overreach; it’s the weaponization of antitrust law to regulate speech, editorial judgment, and private standards-setting under the guise of competition enforcement.