ISLAMABAD: The US Senate voted on Tuesday to confirm Lina Khan, an antitrust researcher who has focused her work on Big Tech’s immense market power, to be a commissioner on the Federal Trade Commission.
The position gives Khan, who was born in London to Pakistani parents, a central position at the agency that investigates antitrust violations, deceptive trade practices and data privacy lapses in Silicon Valley.
“I’m so grateful to the Senate for my confirmation,” Khan wrote on Twitter. “Congress created the FTC to safeguard fair competition and protect consumers, workers, and honest businesses from unfair & deceptive practices. I look forward to upholding this mission with vigor and serving the American public.”
I’m so grateful to the Senate for my confirmation. Congress created the FTC to safeguard fair competition and protect consumers, workers, and honest businesses from unfair & deceptive practices. I look forward to upholding this mission with vigor and serving the American public.
— Lina Khan (@linamkhan) June 15, 2021
Lawmakers voted 69-28 to confirm Khan, 32, who first attracted notice as a critic of Amazon. The agency is investigating the retail giant and filed an antitrust lawsuit against Facebook last year.
Khan will help regulate the kind of behavior highlighted for years by critics of Amazon, Facebook, Google and Apple. At her confirmation hearing in April, Khan outlined strong concerns over competition in the tech industry, saying she was “seeing whole range of potential risks. One that comes up across board is that the ability to dominate one market gives companies, in some instances, the ability to expand into adjacent markets.”
President Biden’s nomination of Khan to one of three Democratic seats at the FTC has been seen as a sign the White House plans to get tough on tech.
