The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is preparing to launch a “crackdown” on wrongdoing by companies within the coming weeks, a senior official said Thursday.
Carlin, who served as acting deputy attorney general for a short time after President Joe Biden was sworn into office, said that the department may go after companies that do not follow through on its obligations as set by the deferred prosecution agreements, and may take legal action against them.
“There are going to be serious consequences,” Carlin warned of companies who failed to invest in compliance systems as set out in the DPA.
“You should expect in the days, months, years to come an unprecedented focus by this attorney-general on corporate accountability,” he said, referring to Merrick Garland, the U.S. government’s top lawyer.
He added: “Now is the time to get the house in order, focus on compliance, because there [are] going to be tough enforcement actions coming out of the department if you do not do so.”
The American Innovation and Choice Online Act, which is similar to a bill introduced earlier this year by House Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust Chairman David Cicilline (D-R.I.), would make it illegal for large tech companies to engage in discriminatory behavior, including disadvantaging rivals.
The bill would also give antitrust enforcers the power to hold large tech companies accountable for illegal behavior by giving them a range of tools to deter such violations.
“Accountability starts with the individuals responsible for criminal conduct. Attorney General Garland has made clear it is unambiguously this department’s first priority in corporate criminal matters to prosecute the individuals who commit and profit from corporate malfeasance,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said.