The FTC chair’s efforts to curb corporate power ‘raise questions’—from Corporate America.
by Bradley Blankenship, FAIR
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) lost a key antitrust case on July 11 after a federal judge rejected the agency’s move to halt Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of video game holding company Activision Blizzard.
FTC Chair Lina Khan has argued that, win or lose, the mere act of taking tech behemoths to court would be a partial victory by signaling the pressing need to update antitrust laws for today’s digital economy (New York Times, 12/7/22). But the Times‘ Cecilia Kang (7/11/23) wrote that the latest rulings “raise questions” about Khan’s strategy, with “critics…speaking out more loudly.” As to which critics are raising these questions, the Times buries the lead.
The three critical voices, representing a “tide of criticism,” as the Times described it, represent industry and the right. Adam Kovacevich, chief executive of Chamber of Progress (identified as “a tech trade group”), is quoted, “All these court losses are making their threats look more like a paper tiger.” Chamber of Progress lists among its “partners” companies like Amazon, Google and Meta, each of which have been sued by the FTC on several occasions for monopolistic business practices. The group has been outspoken against government antitrust efforts.
Ashley Baker of the Committee for Justice, identified by the Times as “a conservative think tank,” added that the FTC has “crossed the line to being reckless with the cases they are bringing.” Baker is more relevantly identified as the founder of the Alliance on Antitrust, described by Washington Monthly (5/25/21) as “an organization dedicated to pushing a pro-monopoly line on Republicans.” The Alliance’s member organizations, the Monthly reported, “receive financial support from Big Tech,” as well as “from monopolistic corporations in other sectors such as oil and gas, Big Ag, telecom, banking and pharmaceuticals.”
Recent Posts
By Retreating In The Funding Fight, Democrats Have Abandoned Their Most Loyal Constituents: D.C. Voters
Take Action Now In capitulating on the GOP funding bill, Democrats have hung their most core constituents out to dry.By Sam Rosenthal On Friday,…
We Can’t Assume That Trump Will Author His Own Undoing
Take Action Now There will surely be turf wars and palace intrigue within the administration, but there is little reason to think that its core…
The Arrest Of Mahmoud Khalil, A Zero Hour Conversation With Sonali Kolhatkar
Take Action Now Eskow and Kolhatkar argue that if this repression is not challenged, it will escalate, targeting more individuals and further eroding…
Five Years After COVID, The GOP Is The Anti-Vaccine Party
Take Action Now Despite the ongoing spread of COVID, measles and bird flu, Trump has handed power to anti-vaxxers and vaccine skeptics.By Sasha…