President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Andrew Ferguson to head the Federal Trade Commission. The latest sign that his administration plans to continue the crackdown on Big Tech bad actors Experts told The Post it began during his first term in office.
Ferguson, who has served as FTC commissioner since April and is the former chief counsel to Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Promised to crack down on Big Tech censorship – although he is expected to adopt a much more deal-friendly approach.
The Republican regulator, who also once appointed Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, will replace current FTC Chairman Khan, a Democrat who regularly infuriates Wall Street with his tough approach to antitrust enforcement and merger review. Used to do.
Shortly after being announced as the incoming president, Ferguson said he would “end Big Tech’s vendetta against competition and free speech” and “ensure America is the world’s technological leader and will continue to bring new ideas to life.” It’s the best place for innovators.”
“I think he’ll certainly take aim at Big Tech, but his approach is likely to be more targeted than Chair Khan’s,” said Joel Thayer, a D.C.-based tech policy lawyer. “Their recent settlement on advertising cartels is a prime example of this.”
As recently as this month, Ferguson criticized the rise of “Big Tech censorship collusion” that has stifled the flow of online discussion on everything from the COVID-19 pandemic to The Post’s exclusive reporting on Hunter Biden’s laptop. Blocked.
Ferguson called out groups such as the now-defunct Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) and NewsGuard for their role in stemming the flow of advertising dollars to outlets that are arbitrarily deemed a risk to “brand safety”. Republicans warned that such organizations could violate the Sherman Antitrust Act.
Ferguson’s comments match comments from incoming FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, a vocal critic of Big Tech-enabled censorship, who has also vowed to address bias in the digital advertising industry.
“The Commission must use the full extent of its authority to protect the freedom of speech of all Americans,” Ferguson said in a Dec. 2 statement. “That authority includes the power to investigate collusion that could stifle competition and, in doing so, suppress free speech online. We should get such an investigation done. And if our investigations uncover anti-competitive cartels that facilitate or promote censorship, we must expose them.
As FTC chair, Ferguson will inherit the agency’s various lawsuits — including pending cases against Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta and Amazon.
Last month, Khan approved a major investigation against Microsoft that focuses on the company’s cloud-computing and artificial intelligence efforts.
Ferguson frequently objected to Khan’s aggressive crackdown on dealmaking – and planned to reverse it.
A one-page memorandum was circulated Before his nomination, Ferguson vowed to “overturn Lina Khan’s anti-trade agenda”, including repealing what he described as “burdensome regulations”.
Ferguson also said he would “end the FTC’s effort to become an AI regulator” and “stop Lina Khan’s war on mergers.”
“Based on his dissent, it is clear that Ferguson’s decisions will be somewhat more measured than those of his predecessor,” Thayer said. “He seems very conscious of where the courts are on administrative law issues.”
Trump also appointed former DOJ and FTC official Mark Meador, who served as an antitrust policy advisor to Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah), to serve as FTC Commissioner. Once confirmed, Meador would give Republicans a majority at the agency.
Meador is considered a skeptic of Big Tech and is expected to support efforts to crack down on the industry’s efforts to suppress smaller rivals.
As reported by The PostBoth Ferguson and Meador were contenders for the FTC chair gig, along with fellow current Republican Commissioner Melissa Holyoak, who drew scrutiny from antitrust advocates over concerns that she would take a soft stance toward Big Tech.
As the current FTC commissioner, Ferguson does not need to be re-confirmed by the Senate – a fact that Trump addressed by saying he would be able to “fight on behalf of the American people on day one of my administration. “
“Andrew will be the first pro-America and pro-innovation FTC Chairman in our country’s history,” Trump said.
