Big Tech and Big Media’s cozy cartel just got a reality check from the Justice Department. The Trusted News Initiative (TNI), a 23-member alliance including giants like Meta, Google, and the Washington Post, faces scrutiny for allegedly colluding to silence voices like the Children’s Health Defense (CHD), founded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as Breitbart reports. This isn’t just about “disinformation” -- it’s about who gets to control the narrative.
In 2023, CHD launched an antitrust lawsuit against TNI, claiming the group has been choking out rival news publishers since 2020. The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, under Assistant Attorney General Gail Slater, will file a statement of interest on July 11, in the ongoing case at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The lawsuit accuses TNI of orchestrating a “group boycott” to deny competitors access to dominant social media platforms.
TNI’s mission? To squash “harmful disinformation” in real time, especially during elections. Sounds noble, until you realize it’s a self-appointed gatekeeper deciding what’s true. CHD argues TNI’s actions violate federal antitrust law, which bans agreements that block rivals from critical market access.
“Partners alert each other to high risk disinformation,” TNI claims, as if they’re saving democracy. But CHD calls it a “massive group boycott,” denying smaller publishers a voice on platforms like Meta and Google. Since 2020, TNI’s chokehold has targeted those who dare challenge its orthodoxy, per the lawsuit.
Federal antitrust law is crystal clear: group boycotts are illegal, no exceptions. The Sherman Antitrust Act prohibits actions that restrain trade, including stifling competition in viewpoints. CHD’s lawsuit seeks treble damages for the harm caused by TNI’s alleged collusion.
The Justice Department’s statement of interest isn’t just a footnote -- it’s a signal. It argues that harms to diverse news sources are antitrust injuries under the Sherman Act. Suppressing competition in the “marketplace of ideas” isn’t just bad for liberty; it’s illegal.
“Suppressing competition in the marketplace of ideas … is not a cognizable antitrust injury,” TNI’s defendants scoff. The Justice Department begs to differ, citing the 1945 Supreme Court case Associated Press v. United States. News organizations don’t get a free pass to collude just because they deal in information.
“Individual liberty -- and consumer welfare -- benefit greatly from viewpoint competition,” the Justice Department insists. Americans rely on diverse perspectives to keep the powerful in check. TNI’s alleged scheme threatens that, and the DOJ isn’t staying silent.
Gail Slater and her team at the Antitrust Division are no strangers to taking on Big Tech. In 2025, they secured a ruling against Google for illegally maintaining a search market monopoly. Now, they’re turning their sights on TNI’s alleged censorship cartel.
“Today’s online platforms control … the flow of our nation’s commerce and communication,” Slater warns. When tech giants and media elites team up, they don’t just set prices—they decide who gets heard. That’s not a market; it’s a monopoly.
CHD’s Kim Mack Rosenberg, general counsel, sees the DOJ’s move as a game-changer. “The DOJ … is stepping in here, hopefully means this case will move forward,” she said. The courts may finally force TNI to answer for its actions.
Dina Kallay, deputy assistant attorney general, recently flagged “product-fixing” schemes where firms collude to limit market offerings. “Don’t fix features of products,” she warned at a June 2025 conference. TNI’s coordinated censorship fits that bill, and the DOJ is watching.
“America First Antitrust policy is about empowering America’s forgotten men and women,” Slater declares. TNI’s elite club of media and tech titans seems more interested in control than competition. The DOJ’s involvement could level the playing field.
The Supreme Court has long held that news publishers aren’t above the law. “All are alike covered by the Sherman Act,” it ruled in 1945. TNI’s claim to be protecting democracy doesn’t excuse illegal collusion.
The CHD lawsuit is a wake-up call for those who think Big Tech and Big Media can gatekeep the truth. The Justice Department’s backing shows the government isn’t buying TNI’s “disinformation” excuse. This case could redefine who controls the flow of ideas in America.
