Lina Khan, nominee for Commissioner of the Federal Commerce Fee (FTC), speaks throughout a Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation affirmation listening to on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, April 21, 2021.
Saul Loeb | Pool | Reuters
Amazon is urgent for the recusal of FTC Chairwoman Lina Khan from ongoing antitrust probes of the e-commerce large, saying her previous criticisms of the corporate display she has “prejudged the outcomes of issues.”
Amazon spokesperson Jack Evans informed CNBC in a press release:
“Whereas we’ve got the utmost respect for FTC Chair Khan, her work for the Open Markets Institute (a longtime Amazon critic), regulation journal articles, and function as a chief creator of the Home Judiciary Committee Antitrust Subcommittee report all replicate preconceived views concerning the firm that she has repeatedly confirmed in media interviews. Amazon must be scrutinized together with all massive organizations. Nevertheless, even massive corporations have the proper to an neutral investigation. Chair Khan’s physique of labor and public statements display that she has prejudged the result of issues the FTC might study throughout her time period and, underneath established regulation, preclude her from collaborating in such issues.”
An FTC spokesperson declined to remark, saying petitions and letters to the FTC are usually not public.
Earlier this month, Khan was sworn in as chair of the FTC. The shock transfer got here simply hours after she was confirmed by the Senate to function a commissioner.
Throughout her affirmation listening to earlier than the Senate, Khan informed Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, she has no monetary conflicts that will make her topic to recusal underneath ethics legal guidelines. She mentioned she would observe the proof the place it leads.
Khan made her first massive splash in antitrust circles along with her 2017 Yale Legislation Journal article, “Amazon’s Antitrust Paradox.” The article, which she wrote whereas nonetheless a regulation scholar, argued that the favored antitrust framework targeted on shopper welfare, was insufficient to evaluate digital giants like Amazon.
The patron welfare normal typically appears at whether or not costs go up or down for shoppers, however Khan advocated for a extra expansive view of antitrust enforcement that might have in mind Amazon’s function as a platform on which its personal rivals rely. She mentioned it was additionally obligatory to grasp why a high-growth platform would possibly have interaction in predatory pricing.
This story is growing. Test again for updates.
