America has sued its own book publishers to stop the world’s biggest book publisher from buying its rival

In what is understood to be the first known antitrust lawsuit filed by the Biden Administration things are getting pretty hairy. According to the lawsuit, Biden officials are arguing that the proposed buyout on behalf of Penguin Random House (they want to buy Simon and Schuster) would create a supernova like event in the publishing world. Officials further argue that Penguin would have unprecedented power having consolidated the “Big 5” into just 4 major publishing companies.

U.S AG Merrick Garland would like people to know that they are having none of it. On Tuesday, the documents were formally filed in federal court in Washington D.C though they can be expected to be challenged by both Penguin and Simon and Schuster. Among the main concerns about the proposed buyout are: lower author payouts, less variety for consumers, and an overall super dominance at Penguin Random House.

If the world’s largest book publisher is permitted to acquire one of its biggest rivals, it will have unprecedented control over this important industry,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said. “American authors and consumers will pay the price of this anticompetitive merger—lower advances for authors and ultimately fewer books and less variety for consumers.”