Progressive Tech Critic Lina Khan Takes Helm as FTC Chair
The Senate confirms Lina Khan in a 69-28 vote, and President Biden immediately elevates the 32-year-old antitrust scholar to lead the Federal Trade Commission.
The Senate confirms Lina Khan as an FTC commissioner in a 69-28 vote and President Biden immediately appoints her as the agency's chair. At just 32 years old, Khan becomes the youngest person ever to lead the Federal Trade Commission. This promotion gives the prominent progressive tech critic broad authority to steer the direction of the agency's enforcement actions.
Her appointment signals a clear shift toward a progressive agenda for the FTC and highlights a bipartisan desire to impose stricter regulations on major technology companies like Amazon, Facebook, and Apple. Khan earns the support of several Republican senators, although a few opponents question her level of experience for the top role.
Khan first rises to prominence in antitrust circles by writing a highly influential 2017 Yale Law Review paper titled "Amazon's Antitrust Paradox" while she is still a student. She takes over the commission's leadership from Acting Chair Rebecca Kelly Slaughter as the Biden administration prepares to name a third commissioner to fill the remaining Democratic seat on the five-member panel.