Senate confirms Lina Khan to Federal Trade Commission

The Senate confirmed Lina Khan to the Federal Trade Commission, elevating one of the tech industry’s most prominent antitrust critics to the government’s top Silicon Valley watchdog. The vote was 69-28 in a Senate split 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans, signaling the growing bipartisan interest in reining in large tech companies’ power. It came just days after House lawmakers from both parties unveiled bills that could force Silicon Valley companies to change their business practices and in the most severe cases, break up the companies. Later in the day, Khan was sworn in as chair of the FTC.

Khan, who gives Democrats a 3-2 majority at the FTC, will be one of the youngest commissioners in FTC history at the age of 32. She is well-known for her 2017 paper “Amazon’s antitrust paradox,” which argued that decades-old antitrust laws aren’t equipped to deal with the e-commerce giant and the unique ways it exerts its dominance. During her confirmation hearing, Khan signaled she would take a tough line on regulating tech giants and said the FTC must be "much more vigilant" when it comes to large acquisitions in digital markets. Advocates for greater enforcement of antitrust law said Khan’s confirmation signals a turning point for the agency.