Trump's Selection for FTC Chair Advocates for Reversing the Positive Changes Implemented by Lina Khan
Trump's Selection for FTC Chair Advocates for Reversing the Positive Changes Implemented by Lina Khan
President-elect Donald Trump declared on Tuesday that he would be nominating Andrew Ferguson as leader of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Ferguson is set to replace Lina Khan, a watchdog who advocated for consumer rights and challenged monopolists. Sources suggest that Ferguson intends to roll back much of Khan's achievements, despite some overly optimistic commentators arguing he'll stand up against abuses by Big Tech.
Trump expressed his approval of Ferguson on Truth Social, stating, "Andrew has a solid track record of opposing Big Tech censorship and championing Freedom of Speech in our incredible nation. Andrew will be the most 'America First' and innovation-friendly FTC chairman our nation has ever seen."
Ferguson is one of the two Republican commissioners appointed by Joe Biden on the five-member FTC panel. According to Senate rules, no more than three commissioners can belong to the same political party.
During Khan's tenure, the FTC took several significant strides, such as banning non-compete clauses, penalizing companies like Google and Amazon for anti-competitive behavior, and publishing reports on topics like mass surveillance by Big Tech. Ferguson, however, aims to reverse many of these reforms.
As reported by Techdirt, Ferguson published a one-page document last week that sought to appease Trump by highlighting the FTC's powers to tackle speech issues that align with the conservative agenda. The document accused Khan of pursuing a "woke" agenda and outlined her alleged accomplishments that harmed the Biden administration.
The document begins, "Commissioner Ferguson is the 'America First', pro-innovation candidate for Chairman of the FTC." It touts Ferguson's impressive legal background, loyalty to ex-President Trump, and record of opposing Big Tech censorship, DEI-centric ideologies, and the left's anti-business and anti-innovation agenda. According to the document, Trump can appoint Ferguson as chairman of the FTC without Senate approval, and his term does not expire until 2030.
The document then lays out Ferguson's plans to challenge Khan's legacy, describing it as an "anti-business agenda." It promises to put an end to Khan's "crusade against mergers" while simultaneously halting mergers within the Big Tech sphere.
Critics have argued that Ferguson would indeed be tough on Silicon Valley, but his intentions are not for the benefit of the average consumer. Instead, his goal is to combat issues that conservatives find objectionable, such as DEI, hate speech, and biased algorithms. The document also targets "advertiser boycotts," a passion project of Elon Musk, who helped Trump win the election in November by providing over a quarter of a billion dollars in funding. Musk believes private companies should be barred from halting ads for companies that don't align with their values. Given Musk's social media platform's controversies since his acquisition in late 2022, this is understandably important to him.
While it's impossible to predict the future, Ferguson's one-page pitch to Trump seems to echo the present-day right's MAGA-world grievances. It's plausible that Ferguson will target the tech giants of Silicon Valley, but not necessarily in a manner that aligns with Khan's more progressive worldview.
The second term of Donald J. Trump looks set to be one of the most contentious in history. And with Ferguson prepared to take charge of the FTC, don't hold your breath for any positive changes as he embarks on a crusade against "woke" ideologies, allowing big businesses to grow even larger at the expense of competition.
Below, you can find the full Ferguson document:
© via TechDirt (Note: This paragraph contains the original text as is, without any modifications.)
In the future, we might see technology companies facing less scrutiny under Ferguson's leadership at the FTC, as he aims to reverse some of the reforms implemented by Lina Khan. Furthermore, the tech industry could potentially benefit from Ferguson's stance against issues that conservatives find objectionable, such as DEI and biased algorithms.