Lina Khan, an antitrust expert, law professor in Columbia and a thorn in the side of Big Tech, is getting candidates to fill one of the commissioner roles at the Federal Trade Commission under President Joe Biden, has three sources who was familiar with the discussions told Recode. this week.
Khan is likely to chair the commissioner currently held by Rohit Chopra, a Democrat who appointed Biden to run the Financial Consumer Protection Bureau (CFPB). Chopra advocates for the nomination of Khan, according to the sources, with one person familiar with deliberations calling her a current ‘forerunner’. Khan served as a lawyer at the FTC in Chopra’s office in 2018 and at the CFPB as a summer company while Chopra worked there.
Khan and Chopra did not respond to comments that were made for comment. A White House spokesman declined to comment. The Capitol Forum first reported on Khan’s traction.
The FTC plays a key role in examining corporate business practices to maintain competition through the application of federal antitrust laws and to prevent harm to consumers. The agency also reviews major acquisitions and mergers of businesses in an effort to maintain competition in the industry, and it can sue companies and impose fines for violating federal laws. For example, in the past year, the FTC has sued separately against the companies that own the razor brands Gillette and Schick, respectively, to prevent them from acquiring or merging with emerging competitors.
The FTC is led by five commissioners, but Biden has two roles to fulfill with Chopra’s departure and current Republican FTC chairman Joe Simons recently announced his resignation. When the two seats are filled, the Democrats will have a 3-2 majority at the top of the commission and may decide to sue or enter into settlements with companies that have allegedly violated antitrust laws.
If Khan is nominated and then confirmed by the Senate, it will give a blow to the Big Four technology companies – Amazon, Facebook, Google and Apple – who have tried to prevent the government from allowing their unparalleled economic and societal power. betower. Khan played a crucial role as legal adviser to the House Antitrust Subcommittee’s Big Tech Giants for 16 months and to the 400-page House Democrat’s report, which claims that all the tech -giants are involved in anti-competitive practices. ruled in.
Khan erupted in antitrust circles on the scene in 2017 when she recorded a legal document called ‘Amazon’s Antitrust Paradox’, which was widely circulated among proponents and critics. It emphasizes the need for improved monitoring application and argues that the current antitrust ladder is unsuitable for restraining internet giants like Amazon. Over the past few decades, U.S. antitrust enforcers have mostly advocated business practices that keep consumer prices low; companies like Amazon, with its low prices, or Google and Facebook with their “free” services, have until recently avoided much research.
Google is already facing three antitrust lawsuits filed by the Department of Justice and the Attorney General of dozens of states late last year. And the FTC and other state attorneys general have filed antitrust charges against Facebook urging the company to withdraw its Instagram and WhatsApp acquisitions. Recode previously reported that the Federal Trade Commission is also continuing to investigate various Amazon business practices to determine if Jeff Bezos’ corporation is violating antitrust laws.
While the worldview of one FTC commissioner will not directly lead the commission to act against the technical giants he otherwise would not have, Khan’s appointment may indicate that Biden’s government is ready to take a tougher stance on Big Tech. to take in as the Obama administration. wash. Progressive people in favor of Big Tech’s increased regulation are concerned about reports that Biden is considering two officials – who previously advised technical giants – for the best antitrust role at the Justice Department, which could also sue companies for violating antitrust laws. .
It remains to be seen whether Biden’s antitrust appointments at the DOJ and FTC will ultimately be a patchwork quilt of officials with differing views on how big the issue is in technology and beyond, and whether they will be in line with the belief that power and business practices of these giants are also a threat to the economy and consumers. Either way, it’s hard to think of an appointment that would bother tech conglomerates more than that of Khan, as well as because of her expertise in investigating their practices and the huge role her writings and advice have already played. has to influence legislators’ view of the threat. Technical attitudes.