Several conservative organizations recently wrote Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell urging him to support filling the vacant “Republican” seat on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) with someone willing “to take on the unchecked power of the most powerful Big Tech companies, especially given how these companies have weaponized their combined market power to directly interfere in our free and fair elections.” These conservatives are embracing the agenda of FTC Commissioner Lina Khan. Under Khan’s leadership, the FTC has abounded the tractional “consumer welfare” standard of antitrust enforcement in favor of a “holistic” approach that would allow the FTC to use antitrust law to dramatically expand government power.
Khan is particularly interested in going after “Big Tech” (e.g., Meta, Amazon, and Google). As the quote above illustrates, the Khan-conservatives are also motivated by an understandable animus towards “big tech” companies.
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