The vice-president of the United States, Kamela Harris, had to intervene to finally obtain on May 11, from the Senate, the confirmation of the democrat Alvaro Bedoya as fifth commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the American antitrust authority. With this appointment, the Democrats are once again in the majority within the agency and will be able to implement a more aggressive antitrust policy, in particular towards GAFAM.
Lina Khan, the ambitious FTC chairwoman, blocked by Republicans
For several months the FTC had been paralyzed, with two Democratic commissioners facing their two Republican counterparts. This blockage has complicated the task of the president of the agency Lina Khan, appointed in June 2021 to extend the missions of the FTC and carry out a proactive antitrust policy against the digital giants.
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His appointment had raised a lot of hope among opponents of the powers of big digital companies. During her studies, in 2017, Lina Khan had illustrated herself with an article on Amazon’s market domination and the obsolescence of American antitrust legislation in the digital age.
By winning a majority of votes at the head of the FTC, the 33-year-old president of the agency will be able to take action against Amazon in general, but also against the merger completed in March of the eCommerce giant and the film studio. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for $8.5 billion.
It will also be able to act more freely on the acquisition of the publisher Activision Blizzard by Microsoft for nearly 70 billion dollars. Agency’s little-used procedures could be turned against Meta, Apple and Google, according to the New York Times. Finally, the FTC may try to set rules on the protection of privacy against which the two Republican commissioners have already stood up.
Alvaro Bedoya is a law professor at Georgetown University, a specialist in the dangers of new technologies for civil rights. His arrival at the FTC was a real way of the cross.
In October 2021 one of its five commissioners, Democrats, left office to head another agency. Joe Biden had anticipated this departure a month earlier by nominating Alvaro Bedoya. The Senate, made up of equal parts Republicans and Democrats, delayed its confirmation for a long time, leading to this deadlock.
This return to a balance of power favorable to the Democrats frightens their opponents. Christine Wilson, one of the conservative commissioners of the FTC repeatedly criticized Lina Khan during her speeches. In April, she accused him and his allies of wanting to pursue a policy inspired by the principles of Marxism.
The day before the vote Neil Bradley, political officer of the United States Chamber of Commerce declared“ Until more is known of Alvaro Bedoya’s views on transparency, due process, statutory authority and basic management of the Commission, it would be irresponsible to confirm this as a vote of Khan tiebreaker “.
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Both Alvaro Bedoya and Lina Khan have remained tight-lipped about their FTC plans. They just said they were looking forward to working together. They probably won’t miss it.
Alvaro’s knowledge, experience, and energy will be a great asset to the FTC as we pursue our critical work. I’m excited to begin working with him, along with our other Commissioners, once his appointment is made final by President Biden.
—Lina Khan (@linakhanFTC) May 11, 2022
Lina Khan has already begun to expand the powers of the FTC and warned companies carrying out mergers that they could be canceled even after the process is complete. Joe Biden signed an executive order in July 2021 to encourage the agency’s antitrust policy and urge to be stricter on the assessment of takeovers.
The pressure on the shoulders of the FTC should redouble. The Biden administration fears losing its slim majority in the US Congress in the November 2022 midterm elections. If so, Democrats will no longer be able to pass digital antitrust laws, that they are already struggling to move forward. The FTC and the Department of Justice will then be the only actors in Joe Biden’s United States antitrust policy. A very heavy task…