Lina Khan’s FTC Legacy: Analysis Over Her Battle Over Big Tech
By: Arushi Agarwal
At just 31 years old, Lina Khan was appointed by President Joe Biden to lead the Federal Trade Commission, making her one of the youngest and most influential regulators in Washington. Her rapid rise and aggressive approach to antitrust enforcement earned praise from an unlikely mix of political figures, from progressive Senator Bernie Sanders to conservative lawmakers like J.D. Vance and Florida Representative Matt Gaetz.
Yet, Khan also faced fierce opposition, particularly from powerful business leaders. Elon Musk, the largest mega donor to President Trump, openly criticized her policies, posting on X that she would be “fired soon.” Mark Cuban, a key surrogate for the, at the time, Vice President, Kamala Harris, similarly called for her replacement if Harris won the presidency, citing concerns over her willingness to break up big tech (Schladen, 2024) .
Nonetheless, Khan has made substantial contributions to the field of antitrust, fearlessly challenging the entrenched power of the tech sector. Before beginning her career, she earned her bachelor's degree from Williams College, followed by a law degree from Yale Law School. During her time at Yale, she became a prominent voice in legal scholarship, most notably authoring "Amazon's Antitrust Paradox" in the Yale Law Journal. The piece garnered some notoriety for its bold critique of the traditional antitrust framework, arguing that it fails to address the growing dominance of e-commerce platforms like Amazon (Khan, 2017).
Lina Khan began her government career as a legal fellow at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), where she worked under Commissioner Rohit Chopra (Khan, 2016). During this time, she gained valuable insight into the inner workings of federal regulatory policy and deepened her understanding of antitrust enforcement. Her early government experience, coupled with her influential academic work, positioned Khan as a leading figure in the emerging New Brandeis movement. This school of thought advocates for a revitalized approach to antitrust law away from the narrow consumer welfare standard and toward a broader focus on market structure (Khan, 2018).
On March 22, 2021, President Biden nominated Khan to serve as chair of the FTC. Her nomination was confirmed by the Senate with strong bipartisan support in a 69–28 vote, reflecting her rising influence and partisan consensus around the need for more antitrust reform (Brandom and Kelly, 2021).
Shortly after her appointment, major tech firms began to push back. Amazon and Facebook filed petitions urging Khan to recuse herself from any cases involving their companies, citing her past criticisms and scholarly writings as evidence of bias (Greene and Lerman, 2021). However, Khan and the FTC maintained that her prior work as a legal scholar did not compromise her ability to perform her regulator role.
In her role as head regulator at the FTC, Lina Khan has led a series of high-profile cases with mixed outcomes, but several notable successes. Among her notable successes is the agency’s crackdown on so-called “junk fees” in short-term lodging and live-event ticketing, targeting hidden costs that mislead consumers and inflate prices. Under her leadership, the FTC also advanced the “Click-to-Cancel” rule, designed to make it just as easy for consumers to cancel subscriptions as it is to sign up. In another win, the FTC took enforcement action against Fortnite’s parent company, Epic Games, securing over $245 million in consumer refunds after the company was found to have used practices to deceive users into buying unwanted items. Khan also took on Amazon, filing a lawsuit against the tech giant for allegedly inflating prices and exploiting sellers who rely on its marketplace. While many of her most visible efforts have focused on the tech and internet sectors, her FTC team has also scored victories beyond Silicon Valley, including enforcement actions against companies like General Motors, Mastercard, and Pepsi (Nguyen, 2025).
Lina Khan has left a lasting impact on the regulatory landscape by pushing the boundaries of antitrust enforcement and bringing it into the realities of the 21st century. Though she no longer serves as FTC chair under President Donald Trump, her tenure remains a defining chapter in modern regulatory history. Over the course of four years, Khan reimagined the FTC as a more assertive and proactive force against corporate power. While her bold approach drew significant criticism and legal resistance, it also sparked a renewed conversation about corporate competition, consumer rights, and fair market practices.
Sources:
Brandom, R., & Kelly, M. (2021, June 15). Tech antitrust pioneer Lina Khan will officially lead the FTC. The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/15/22527709/lina-khan-ftc-commissioner-competition-facebook-amazon-google-apple
Greene J., & Lerman R. (2021, June 30). Amazon seeks Lina Khan’s recusal on matters before FTC. The Washington Post. Retrieved April 12, 2025. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/06/30/amazon-khan-ftc-recusal/
Khan, L. (2016). Lina Khan. Squarespace. https://web.archive.org/web/20180909035505/http://www.linamkhan.com/
Khan, L. (2018, March 01). The New Brandeis Movement: America’s Antimonopoly Debate. Oxford Academic. https://academic.oup.com/jeclap/article/9/3/131/4915966?login=true
Khan, L. M. (2017, January 3). Yale Law Journal - Amazon's Antitrust Paradox. The Yale Law Journal. Retrieved April 12, 2025, from https://www.yalelawjournal.org/note/amazons-antitrust-paradox
Nguyen, S. T. (2025, January 19). FTC Releases Summary of Key Accomplishments. Federal Trade Commission. Retrieved April 12, 2025, from https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2025/01/ftc-releases-summary-key-accomplishments
Schladen, M. (2024, October 21). Mark Cuban, a top Harris surrogate, clarifies position on antitrust official. Alabama Reflector. https://alabamareflector.com/2024/10/21/mark-cuban-a-top-harris-surrogate-clarifies-position-on-antitrust-official/
Image Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/19/lina-khan-ftc-legacy-trump