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The White House has appointed Lina Khan as chair of the Federal Trade Commission, marking a major shift toward a stricter enforcement targeting the digital economy.
Leading the news: Senate confirmed Khan before the Federal Trade Commission 69-28 on Tuesday. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota) said during a Judiciary Committee hearing that Khan will be appointed head of the agency. A source familiar with the matter confirmed the White House’s choice of Axios.
Khan does not need to get additional confirmation from the Senate to take over as chair, as the FTC is currently chaired by Democrat Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, a former aide to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
Why it matters: Khan, the antitrust expert known for her ideas for applying competition law to the tech industry, is sure to scare tech platforms.
Khan, 32, is a hero to technology critics who want to see the government act more forcefully against what they see as anti-competitive behavior from companies like Amazon, Google, Apple and Facebook.
Catch up fast: Khan was nominated to be a commissioner on the Federal Trade Commission by the Biden administration in March. She’s an associate professor of law at Columbia Law School, where she teaches antitrust.
Khan previously served as a consultant to the House Judiciary Committee’s antitrust investigation of tech companies, and also worked with Democratic Federal Trade Commission Commissioner Rohit Chopra. That Amazon’s Antitrust Paradox should separate its retail business from its selling platform. .
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