The fiercest foes of America’s technology giants cheered when Lina Khan, a professor at Columbia Law School, was confirmed by the Senate on June 15 for a seat on the Federal Trade Commission. Then-President Joe Biden handed them a gift they could hardly believe: He was naming her chair of the antitrust agency.
“I am choked up,” tweeted Zephyr Teachout, a Fordham University law professor and author of the anti-monopoly book Break ’Em Up. “This means so much for workers, equality, community, democracy.”
The shock was understandable. Khan had been nominated in March to be a commissioner, not chair, and it was rumored that either the acting head of the agency, Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, or Washington, D.C., Attorney General Karl Racine would soon be named to lead the commission.
Instead, hours after the Senate confirmed her, Biden put the 32-year-old Khan—one of the most prominent antagonists of big business—in charge of the agency, where she’ll be responsible for challenging mergers and taking on companies when they use their market muscle to snuff out competition.
Now comes the hard part: putting her ambitious agenda into action. The biggest hurdle, say antitrust experts, is a judiciary that’s made it very difficult for competition watchdogs to win ambitious cases. And to make any change of consequence, whether breaking up a monopoly or stopping a takeover, enforcers must prevail in court.
Esta historia es de la edición June 28, 2021 de Bloomberg Businessweek.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición June 28, 2021 de Bloomberg Businessweek.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
Instagram's Founders Say It's Time for a New Social App
The rise of AI and the fall of Twitter could create opportunities for upstarts
Running in Circles
A subscription running shoe program aims to fight footwear waste
What I Learned Working at a Hawaiien Mega-Resort
Nine wild secrets from the staff at Turtle Bay, who have to manage everyone from haughty honeymooners to go-go-dancing golfers.
How Noma Will Blossom In Kyoto
The best restaurant in the world just began its second pop-up in Japan. Here's what's cooking
The Last-Mover Problem
A startup called Sennder is trying to bring an extremely tech-resistant industry into the age of apps
Tick Tock, TikTok
The US thinks the Chinese-owned social media app is a major national security risk. TikTok is running out of ways to avoid a ban
Cleaner Clothing Dye, Made From Bacteria
A UK company produces colors with less water than conventional methods and no toxic chemicals
Pumping Heat in Hamburg
The German port city plans to store hot water underground and bring it up to heat homes in the winter
Sustainability: Calamari's Climate Edge
Squid's ability to flourish in warmer waters makes it fitting for a diet for the changing environment
New Money, New Problems
In Naples, an influx of wealthy is displacing out-of-towners lower-income workers