DOJ shuffles antitrust division to focus on tech

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By Matt Berger

(IDG) -- The U.S. Department of Justice said it would shake up its legal ranks Friday, announcing plans to "modernize" its antitrust division to better cope with new enforcement issues in the technology and telecommunications industries.

The DOJ antitrust group currently focused on computers and finance will be expanded and renamed the Networks and Technology Enforcement Section, the DOJ said in a statement. Meanwhile, an interim division focused on the telecommunication industry will become a permanent department, and will also keep watch over the media industry, the federal agency said.

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The changes are intended to address what federal officials consider increasingly sophisticated issues involving high tech, networking and intellectual property.

"It positions the Antitrust Division to address the challenges of the New Economy in the 21st Century while strengthening enforcement capability in traditional industries," Assistant Attorney General Charles James said in a statement.

The DOJ's antitrust division will also dismantle its Health Care Task Force and consolidate that group into other divisions, the DOJ said.

The changes come just as the DOJ prepares to bring an end to its 3-year-old legal battle with Microsoft Corp. The dueling sides forged a settlement agreement in early November, which has yet to be signed off by a U.S. District Court. Nine U.S. states and the District of Columbia remain at loggerheads with the company and have yet to settle.

The new structure has been approved by the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate appropriations subcommittees, and is expected to be put into action in February.