FTC’s Court Loss Raises Questions About Chair’s Strategy

“Lina Khan became chair of the Federal Trade Commission two years ago on a promise to bring bold action against the biggest tech companies,” the New York Times reports.

“For too long, Ms. Khan said at the time, the agency had been a weak cop and needed to challenge behemoths like Microsoft, Amazon, Meta and Google in the courts to stem their growing power. Even if the F.T.C. lost the cases, she later added, they would be a partial victory because the agency would signal that antitrust laws needed to be updated for the modern internet era.”

“But on Tuesday, Ms. Khan suffered the biggest blow yet to her hallmark agenda. A federal judge rejected the F.T.C.’s attempt to stop Microsoft’s $70 billion acquisition of the video game maker Activision Blizzard from closing, saying the agency failed to prove the deal would reduce competition and harm consumers.”