“She brings to the job what I would call the boldest vision for the agency in its history,” William Kovacic, a former chairman of the agency, had said.
“So in that respect, she is a potentially transformative figure.”
Facebook’s petition against FTC’s Lina Khan
“Due process entitles any targeted individual or company to fair consideration of its factual and legal defenses by unbiased Commissioners who, before joining the Commission, have not already made up their minds about the target’s legal culpability,” Facebook argued in its petition. “When a new Commissioner has already drawn factual and legal conclusions and deemed the target a lawbreaker, due process requires that individual recuse herself from related matters when acting in the capacity of an FTC Commissioner.”
Facebook has referred to Khan’s work for the Open Markets Institute, an anti-monopoly advocacy organization, her academic work, and even her tweets that supported FTC going after the Big Tech.
When Khan was appointed as chair last month, it was known that she was one of the biggest critics of Big Tech and was one of the reasons she was chosen to lead the agency in a time when it’s become crucial to find some clarity over Silicon Valley’s power and control.
Major tech companies have long lobbied against bills that could regulate them, break them, or even ban some of their practices. It isn’t surprising that Silicon Valley will now try to discredit Khan in another attempt to hold on to that unchecked power it has accumulated over the years. Even if these petitions are unsuccessful, they will still manage to cast doubt on any ongoing and future cases against them and potentially even divide the public’s opinion over partisan lines.
