The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 2024 little resembles its former self. The agency has drifted away from its post as a watchdog guarding against anti-competitive schemes and fraud. Instead, it increasingly itself positions as an interventionist economic regulator, intent on nipping and tucking the economy to reflect the biases of its leadership. Over decades, the agency earned a reputation as an economically rigorous institution that played a supporting role in economic matters and, on the whole, played it well. The few short years since President Joe Biden hoodwinked the Senate into installing Lina Khan as chair, the FTC (and Khan) has fractured these foundations. Today’s FTC seeks to expand its remit — both as an enforcer and, increasingly, as a lawgiver.
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