Tech giants sought early inroads with President Trump's FTC

Google, Amazon, and Snap wasted little time in 2018 in trying to cultivate the new crop of enforcers at the Federal Trade Commission, an agency that will play a key role in any Washington crackdown on the tech industry. The companies reached out to schmooze the four FTC commissioners appointed by President Donald Trump soon after they they were sworn into office in May, according to 73 pages of email communications obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. Google was particularly active, inviting commission staff to coffee, setting up a meeting with the new Republican chairman, Joe Simons, and touting a project it said would give users more control of their data. Amazon also requested a sit-down with Simons to discuss the company's "approach to privacy" and its view of the "overall retail competitive landscape including our grocery business," a reference to the Whole Foods chain it acquired in 2017. Amazon's head of policy in Washington (DC) Brian Huseman, who previously worked for two Republican FTC chairs, also offered to assist Simons' new chief of staff, writing, "And if I can help in any way with the job, just holler."