Kimmelman served as vice president for federal and international affairs at Consumers Union, staying with the organization for 14 years. While at Consumers Union, Kimmelman was the lead consumer advocate for the Telecommunications Act of 1996.[11] From 2012 to 2014, Kimmelman worked at the New America Foundation.[10]
On January 15, 2014, Public Knowledge announced that Kimmelman was appointed as their President and Chief Executive Officer.[12] Kimmelman left the organization in 2021 to join the Department of Justice as a senior advisor.[1] In this role, Kimmelman worked with FCC Chair Tom Wheeler on a proposal for a digital platform agency that would be responsible for tech industry regulation.[13][14] Kimmelman has argued that Facebook has harmed consumers by facilitating the dissemination of digital misinformation.[15]
Policy views
Throughout his career, Kimmelman has been noted for his pragmatic approach to politics and ability to build working relationships with Republican politicians such as John McCain and Mike DeWine.[16][17] According to The New York Times, this approach has led to critics on the left to accuse him of being "too willing to team up with moneyed interests". Kimmelman's approach was criticized by Nader, described as a former mentor, who said he became a "hybrid" consumer advocate.[18]
Tech regulation and antitrust
Kimmelman has argued that requiring interoperability from Big Tech companies would be a better approach than breaking up the companies, stating that some "more severe remedies can be justified but they cause trade-offs that cause some consumer benefits being given up".[19] In a 2019 collaborative op-ed for Fortune, Kimmelman argued that antitrust enforcement alone is insufficient for spurring competition in the tech industry, arguing that antitrust "cannot overcome or eliminate the natural economic characteristics of these markets that make competition so difficult."[20]
Kimmelman has argued that Facebook has harmed consumers by facilitating the dissemination of digital misinformation.[15] Alongside former FCC Chair Tom Wheeler, Kimmelman has proposed the creation of a digital platform agency that would be responsible for tech industry regulation.[13][14] The proposal was criticized by some antitrust advocates affiliated with the New Brandeis movement such as Zephyr Teachout, who advocate for "breaking up" Big Tech companies through antitrust enforcement.[21]
Telecommunications policy
In 2002, Kimmelman supported the ultimately abandoned merger of EchoStar Communications with DirecTV,[22] a position that attracted press attention due to reports that Kimmelman's was a high school friend of EchoStar executive Charles Ergen.[23] Kimmelman criticized Assistant Attorney General for the Antirust Division Joel Klein for failing to stop the BellAtlantic-NYNEX merger.[24]
As chief counsel of the Department of Justice Antitrust Division, Kimmelman helped lead the approval of Comcast’s merger with NBC Universal.[2] Kimmelman was a critic of the AT&T-TimeWarner merger, arguing that the acquisition would harm consumers and hinder competition.[25]
In 1991, at the age of 36, Kimmelman married Caroline Chambers, a political staffer.[3] Kimmelman is a senior fellow at the University of Colorado Law School.[7] Kimmelman was a contributor at the Federalist Society, having participated in events at the organization in both 2014 and 2019.[35]
^ ab"Public Knowledge Vet Rejoining DOJ Temporarily - Law360". www.law360.com. Archived from the original on 2022-02-22. Retrieved 2022-02-22. He left in 2012 to join the think-tank New America Foundation before becoming the president and CEO of Public Knowledge and eventually moving to the role of senior adviser at the latter group.
^"Who Are These Guys? | Archives". Cablefax. 2003-05-05. Archived from the original on 2022-02-14. Retrieved 2022-02-14. The permanent dealer, Kimmelman shocked everyone last year when he came to the aid of former high school classmate Charlie Ergen and pushed hard to support the EchoStar-DirecTV merger. DeWine even noted at a hearing that in all the times he'd had Kimmelman testify, he'd never heard him support a merger before.