The Federal Trade Commission has got a new commissioner with the appointment of Lina M. Khan after winning a 69-28 vote. She was nominated for the post by President Joe Biden in March this year, replacing Joseph Simons who resigned in January. She has the support of 2 independents, 46 Democrats, and 21 Republicans, including Commerce Committee Ranking Member Roger Wicker, and R-Miss. At 32 years old, she is the youngest commissioner ever to be confirmed to the FTC.
I’m so grateful to the Senate for my confirmation. Congress created the FTC to safeguard fair competition and protect consumers, workers, and honest businesses from unfair & deceptive practices. I look forward to upholding this mission with vigor and serving the American public.
— Lina Khan (@linamkhan) June 15, 2021
Khan is an American legal scholar specializing in antitrust and competition law in the United States. She is also a prominent critic of Big Tech companies like Facebook, Amazon, Apple, and Google"s parent Alphabet. She became famous after her article "Amazon’s Antitrust Paradox" was published in The Yale Law Journal in 2017, while being a student at the university. She was also a participant in the House Judiciary subcommittee on the antitrust investigation into Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google for being a monopoly.
Congress wants to reign in the powers of the big tech companies and expand the powers of FTC, making it a more aggressive regulator against anti-competitive behavior. Just last week, House Democrats introduced five new bills after a 16-month long investigation into the business tactics of big tech companies aiming to stop practices that hurt competition.
Source: Lina Khan via Engadget | Image source: TechCrunch