By Andrew Ross Sorkin, Jason Karaian, Michael J. de la Merced, Lauren Hirsch and Ephrat Livni (New York Times)
A muscular approach to antitrust emerges
Word that the White House plans to pick Lina Khan, a Columbia Law professor whose research has spurred a rethinking of competition law, for a seat on the Federal Trade Commission has Washington and business types speculating that the Biden administration is preparing to get tough on antitrust. (She would need to be confirmed by the Senate.)
Ms. Khan first shot to fame with a paper she wrote in law school, accusing Amazon of abusing its monopoly power. Having previously worked at the anti-monopolist nonprofit Open Markets Institute, she has since become a leader in the progressive movement known as “hipster antitrust.” That movement calls for new ways of reviewing companies’ market control, including how that affects people’s roles as citizens, workers and community members in addition to being consumers.
