CNBC exclusive: FTC Chair Lina Khan sits down with Andrew Ross Sorkin and Kara Swisher to discuss her plans to take on Big Tech
Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan joined CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin and Kara Swisher, host of The New York Times’ “Sway” podcast, for her first on-camera interview on Wednesday.
The exclusive interview, part of CNBC’s “Capital Exchange,” comes as the FTC grapples with a historic merger surge for which the agency has said it needs more resources to tackle. Meanwhile, Khan has laid out a sweeping vision for reforming the agency, including expanding the ways it thinks about both competition policy and consumer protection.
Khan, who prior to the FTC studied concentration in digital markets as an academic and as a staffer for the House Judiciary subcommittee on antitrust, discussed the importance of choosing cases that could deter future deals or behavior that may substantially lessen competition. She also welcomed action from Congress to beef up the agency’s budget and staff so it’s able to take on more cases, though she said the agency is pushing ahead against better-resourced firms flexing their power against enforcers.
Khan’s agency is now responsible for an antitrust suit against Facebook, originally filed under her predecessor, and reported investigations into Amazon.
Both of those companies have called for her recusal in antitrust matters involving their businesses due to her past work. Khan has not publicly stepped back from either and a judge in the Facebook case recently wrote that her recusal in that case was unnecessary because she would not be acting as the adjudicator.
Khan said she was pleased by the judge’s decision on her recusal in that matter. She also stressed the importance of looking ahead to the next set of technologies that could help firms amass power, while trying cases focused on past behavior.
