White House backs nomination of Lina Khan for leading Federal Trade Commission

US President Joe Biden, in an attempt to advance his speculated antitrust stance, named Lina Khan, a known supporter of similar ideas, for a leading position in the Federal Trade Commission. 

The White House on Monday made the announcement of moving forward with the nomination of Khan, a law professor at Columbia University. Tim Wu, who also opposes the monopoly of Big Tech, was appointed as an economic advisor in the White House earlier. 

Khan previously served as counsel to the antitrust subcommittee in the US House of Representatives, which last year released a lengthy report suggesting grounds for splitting up tech giants such as Apple, Facebook, Google and Amazon. 

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She also authored a 2017 paper called “Amazon’s Antitrust Paradox,” which outlined the growing dominance of the e-commerce and tech giant, which some say helped shift sentiment on antitrust, reported AFP. 

Khan worked in the office of Federal Trade Commission member Rohit Chopra and was legal director at the Open Markets Institute, a think tank that has been highly critical of the Silicon Valley giants.

The news comes amid a growing backlash against tech behemoths that have dominated key economic sectors and seen their influence grow during the coronavirus pandemic.

The move is likely to trigger a contentious nomination fight, with some Republicans already expressing opposition to Khan.

Utah Senator Mike Lee said earlier this month that “being less than four years out of law school,” Khan “lacks the experience necessary for such an important role as FTC Commissioner.”

Additionally, Lee said, “her views on antitrust enforcement are also wildly out of step with a prudent approach to the law” and that her appointment “would signal that President Biden intends to put ideology and politics ahead of competent antitrust enforcement”, reported AFP. 

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But Charlotte Slaiman of the consumer advocacy group Public Knowledge welcomed the news, saying earlier this month that Khan’s appointment “will signal that antitrust enforcement and important competition policy changes will be a high priority.”

Lawmakers and policymakers in recent years have been mulling the decades-old “consumer welfare” standard of antitrust enforcement, which allows for a largely hands-off approach for big firms as long as prices are not impacted, reported AFP.

According to critics, Big Tech organisations have concentrated power to themselves in essential economic sectors and remain unaccountable as a result of this approach. 

Last week, acting FTC chair Rebecca Slaughter suggested heightened antitrust scrutiny, including of the digital economy.

In a statement last week, Rebecca Slaughter, the acting chair of the FTC, advocated for increased checks and balances for such organisations. 

She told lawmakers in an official meeting, “The increasing presence of large technology companies in our daily lives and in our economy animates recent calls for antitrust reform.”