Slater Warns Monopolies Endanger US Security

According to her speech, Slater criticized what she described as “fearmongering” about economic threats being used as a justification for approving major mergers. She pointed to the Trump Administration’s defense of the Hewlett-Packard Enterprise/Juniper Networks deal as an example of this argument. “National champions are too often national chokepoints,” she said. “The path to our national security and global technology leadership depends on competitive markets that allow for the growth of new cutting-edge U.S. technologies.”

In her remarks, Slater placed today’s antitrust challenges in a broader historical context. She highlighted landmark cases such as the breakup of Standard Oil in 1911 and the dismantling of AT&T in the 1980s, noting that both unleashed waves of innovation.  She reminded the audience that even once-monopolistic firms often prospered in the long run, pointing to Standard Oil’s descendants—ExxonMobil and Chevron—as examples of companies that continued to thrive after divestiture.

Slater also drew parallels between past industrial revolutions and current advances in artificial intelligence. Comparing the rise of large language models to the dawn of the internal combustion engine, she argued that disruptive technologies can reshape the economy, but only if smaller players are allowed access to markets. According to her speech, she warned that without vigilant enforcement, monopolists could prevent the next generation of innovators from transforming industries such as energy, healthcare, and agriculture.

Read more: Judge Allows Antitrust Claims Against Epic Systems to Proceed

The Assistant Attorney General further cited the Microsoft case of the early 2000s as proof that antitrust enforcement can open new avenues for growth. That settlement, which forced Microsoft to curb practices that limited competitors’ access to its Windows platform, gave companies like Google and Apple room to develop products that would become cornerstones of the digital economy. She argued that without those remedies, entire industries might have evolved very differently.

Slater’s speech also touched on geopolitics, stressing that America’s economic model differs sharply from China’s reliance on state-backed giants. She suggested that central planning, whether by governments or monopolists, stifles progress. According to a statement, she reiterated that the U.S. will maintain its edge not by copying foreign strategies but by relying on the unpredictability of free markets and the dynamism of open competition.

Concluding her remarks, Slater emphasized that the benefits of strong antitrust enforcement extend beyond entrepreneurs and consumers. Investors, too, have reaped rewards from companies freed from monopoly structures, as seen in the growth of firms that emerged from earlier breakups. “We empower great companies to do what they do best — to compete through innovation and win opportunities in the free market — and the pie grows for everyone,” she said.

Source: Justice Gov