House Republicans Interrogate FTCs Khan Over Regulation Of Big Tech
The chairman of the Federal Trade Commission on Thursday defended her aggressive regulatory strategy against the nation's biggest tech companies, as House Republicans accused the agency of being overzealous and politicized under President Joe Biden.
After Lena Kahn took over Twitter from Elon Musk, Republicans accused the big tech company of wrongdoing and refusing to reverse some of the allegations. In April, the commission recalled Khan after the commission found that the agency accused Musk of being politically motivated.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said Biden's FTC is "trying to dismantle the laws that make the American economy great" and give the government unlimited power over business practices.
Khan dismissed the criticism, arguing that more regulation is necessary as business grows and the tech giant has the ability to monitor the economy and consumers.
"Our competitive mission is based on the principle that strong antitrust enforcement is essential to the growth and dynamism of our economy, as well as to our collective security and freedom," Khan said. "However, as the past few decades have made clear, as markets become more consolidated and less competitive, Americans lose out."
The hearing comes as the agency is embroiled in a series of lawsuits against tech companies, and Kahn — who was a critic of big tech before becoming the agency's head — has been trying — not always successfully — to get the government to tighten its grip on these companies and stop their growth.
On Tuesday, Khan and his agency suffered a major setback when they refused to block Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of video game company Activision Blizzard. The Federal Trade Commission tried to block the deal, saying it would harm competition.
U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley said the deal, the largest in tech industry history, should be closely watched, but the FTC had not shown it would cause serious harm. The Federal Trade Commission is now appealing the decision .
Similarly, another judge earlier this year rejected the FTC's bid to prevent Meta from acquiring virtual fitness company Unlimited.
Republicans have focused on the agency's poor legal record in these antitrust cases.
"Did you lose purpose?" Rep. Kevin Kelly, R-Calif., asked if Kahn's earlier comments suggest that the court's loss is a sign that Congress should reform antitrust laws.
"Absolutely not," replied Khan.
Republicans question the rationale for tougher regulation and that it could hurt small businesses. Rep. Darrell Issa of California has criticized the FTC's "left swing" since taking office two years ago.
Jesus said: Shame on you. "The fact is we are a global market and for whatever reason they think they want to go to who they want and I don't understand the logic."
After the meeting, White House spokesman Michael Kikkuwa released a statement saying Biden chose Kahn "because he believes in fair and strong enforcement of antitrust laws."
"President Khan has provided families, consumers, workers, small businesses and entrepreneurs with a way to protect our children from illegal means of protecting their personal information, to providing consumers with a cheaper and easier way." And stop bad mergers like semiconductor mega-mergers that can stifle innovation."
The Federal Trade Commission alleges that Amazon tried to enroll customers in Amazon Prime without their consent for a year, making it difficult for them to cancel their subscriptions. In a federal court filing last month, the company accused Amazon of using fraudulent schemes known as "dark patterns" to get customers to sign up for its service.
In addition, like ChatGPT, Khan and other FTC officials have repeatedly warned in letters to developers that they will crack down on harmful AI-related practices.
Much of the Republican focus has been on the Federal Trade Commission's crackdown on Twitter, as the agency is investigating the social media company as part of its ongoing oversight of its cybersecurity and privacy practices. Republican lawmakers said the agency's investigation this spring included an effort to gather information about Musk's internal communications and the reporters he hired, as well as access internal records to examine the company's previous operations before he started working at the company.
Jordan said Khan's Twitter comments seemed "motivated."
Why bother with Twitter? Jordan asked.
Khan said the agency focused on Twitter's lax security and privacy policies. He noted that the company had been researching the platform for years prior to Field's tenure.
The FTC has been monitoring the company since Twitter received a consent order for a serious data breach in 2011. But the agency's concerns grew in the turmoil that followed Musk's acquisition of the company in October and mass layoffs.
Twitter, now with parent company X Corp. Before the congressional hearing on Thursday in federal court to revoke the consent order and "suppress an uncontrolled and harmful investigation."
Republicans have also criticized Kahn for not recusing himself from the Meta issue after the company asked Kahn to drop an earlier push for a major merger with Facebook. Citing an internal agency memo, they asked him if he had ignored the recommendations.
"There was no breach of ethics," Khan said, adding that he had no financial problems to deny.
Democrats defended Kahn's actions. New York Rep. Jerry Nadler, the top Democrat on the judiciary, told Kahn at the start of the hearing that he hoped Republicans would "refocus their often baseless personal attacks on the importance of your mission."
Kahn, a lawyer, was a well-known tech critic when he took over the agency in 2021. His appointment was seen as a sign of the Biden administration taking control of tech companies, which have come under intense pressure from government regulators and other attorneys general. .
He was a professor at Columbia Law School and in 2017 was recognized as a Yale Law student for his academic work "The Amazon Antitrust Paradox." This work helped lay the groundwork for a new look at competition law beyond the effects of corporate dominance on consumer prices.
He has experience with the Judiciary Committee, serving as counsel to the Antitrust Subcommittee in 2019 and 2020. In that role, he contributed to an extensive bipartisan investigation into the market power of technology giants.
Republicans have accused the judiciary in Jordan's parliament of censoring conservative tech companies. The committee asked the CEOs of the five biggest tech companies in February to investigate the regulation of Big Tech content.
Associated Press writer Josh Bock contributed to this report. O'Brien reports from Providence, Rhode Island.
