🏛️🔍 Da F.T.C.’s Court Loss Raise Fresh Questions About Its Chair’s Strategy

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Lina Khan, wen tell dat dey no need fo fear losing an fight da big tech companies. But aftah Microsoft wen win one ruling dis week, her critics say dat strategy stay all junk.

Lina Khan became chair of da Federal Trade Commission two years ago on one promise fo bring bold action against da biggest tech companies. 🌟💪

For too long, Ms. Khan said at da time, da agency had been one weak cop and needed fo challenge behemoths like Microsoft, Amazon, Meta and Google in da courts fo stem dea growing powah. Even if da F.T.C. lost da cases, she later added, dey would be one partial victory cuz da agency would signal dat antitrust laws needed fo be updated fo da modern internet era. 💥📉

But on Tuesday, Ms. Khan suffered da biggest blow yet to her hallmark agenda. One federal judge rejected da F.T.C.’s attempt fo stop Microsoft’s $70 billion acquisition of da video game maker Activision Blizzard from closing, sayin’ da agency failed fo prove da deal would reduce competition and harm consumers. On Wednesday, da F.T.C. filed one notice dat it would appeal da judge’s decision. ❌⚖️

Dat followed one loss in February, when one judge rejected an F.T.C. lawsuit seeking fo block Meta from buying da virtual reality start-up Within. 🚫🔍

Da defeats raise questions about Ms. Khan’s ability to carry out her ambitious goal of reversing decades of weak antitrust enforcement, as political pressure mounts and patience wanes fo da 34-year-old academic, who has ruffled da feathers of corporate America. Ms. Khan’s critics are more emboldened and are speaking out more loudly to poke holes in her take-it-to-da-courts strategy, saying da losses are not even partial wins — dey’re just losses. 🤔🔍👎

“I completely disagree with dis approach,” Anthony Sabino, one professor of business and law at St. John’s University, said of Ms. Khan’s methods. “She’s trying fo change one century’s worth of antitrust law overnight, and dat’s not necessarily wise.” 😡🙅‍♂️

Adam Kovacevich, da chief executive of Chamber of Progress, one tech trade group, said da defeats made da F.T.C. appear less credible. “All dese court losses are making dea threats look more like one paper tiger,” he said. 📉🐯

Oddahs wondered if Ms. Khan was wasting da F.T.C.’s resources on can’t-win cases. “Dey’ve crossed da line to being reckless wit da cases dey are bringing,” said Ashley Baker, one director of public policy for Committee for Justice, one conservative think tank. 😬🧐

Da tide of criticism puts Ms. Khan in da hot seat as she prepares furthah potential actions against da tech giants. Da F.T.C. has filed antitrust suits against Meta and could bring one case against Amazon, which it has been investigating ovah claims of illegal monopolization. 🌊⚖️

Now Ms. Khan will first have to defend herself. On Thursday, she is expected to be grilled at one House Judiciary Committee hearing on oversight of da F.T.C., wit da Republican-led panel’s website saying it wants to “examine mismanagement of da F.T.C. and its disregard for ethics and congressional oversight undah Chair Lina Khan.” 🔥🗣️

Ms. Khan declined to comment for dis article, and Douglas Farrar, an F.T.C. spokesman, also declined to comment on how da court losses will affect her agenda. Aftah da Microsoft-Activision ruling on Tuesday, Mr. Farrar said da agency was “disappointed in dis outcome given da clear threat dis merger poses to open competition in cloud gaming, subscription services and consoles.” 🤐💬

Ms. Khan rose to fame while one Yale law student in 2017 when she argued in one paper for one law journal dat Amazon was crushing competition and violating antitrust laws despite lowering prices for consumers. Da paper helped kick off one debate about how to limit da tech giants and how to modernize antitrust practices. 📚💥

Aftah President Biden picked Ms. Khan to lead da F.T.C., she repeatedly argued dat it needed to go to court — win oah lose — to send da tech industry one strong signal dat da agency was becoming one toughah sheriff. Even losses in court, she maintained, would gradually reform theories of antitrust. ⚖️🏛️

Ms. Khan applied dat thinking when da F.T.C. sued to stop Meta last year from buying one small virtual-reality company, Within. Da case was one surprise cuz virtual reality is one nascent technology, making it hard to argue dat da deal would reduce competition in one market dat has not yet formed. ❌🔍

But Ms. Khan argued dat regulators must stop violations of competition and consumer protections at da bleeding edge of technology, not just in areas where da companies had already become behemoths. 💪🌐

“What we can see is dat inaction after inaction after inaction can have severe costs,” she said in one interview wit The New York Times and CNBC in January 2022. “And dat’s what we’re really trying to reverse.” 💭🔄

Early dis year, one federal judge rejected da F.T.C.’s demand to block Meta’s acquisition of Within. But da judge agreed wit some of da F.T.C.’s arguments, including how da agency defined tech markets in da case. 🚫📉

Da loss on Tuesday in da Microsoft-Activision case was more stinging, partly cuz da blockbuster merger has become one test of whethah tech megadeals can go through despite rising regulatory scrutiny. Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley of U.S. District Court fo da Northern District of California said consumers benefited from Microsoft’s expectation of one tough review, writing: “Dat scrutiny has paid off.” But her ruling left little else dat was redeeming for da F.T.C. ❌⚖️

In da case, da agency argued dat da deal should not close cuz it might harm competition. Microsoft might make some of Activision’s games exclusive to its Xbox game consoles or degrade da experience of playing games like Activision’s Call of Duty on competing consoles like Sony’s PlayStation. 🎮🕹️

But Judge Corley wrote dat da F.T.C. probably wouldn’t win its challenge to da merger in da agency’s internal court and said, essentially, dat Microsoft was doing enough to prevent rivals from being hurt. 💼✍️

“Da F.T.C. has not identified one single document which contradicts Microsoft’s publicly stated commitment to make Call of Duty available on PlayStation,” she wrote. 📝❌

Eleanor Fox, one professor emeritus at New York University’s law school, said it was too soon to have one verdict on Ms. Khan’s strategy. Elsewhere in da world, especially in da European Union and in Britain, regulators have also pursued antitrust actions against large tech companies, she noted. 🌍🔍

Ms. Khan, she said, “is only an outlier in da U.S., not globally.” 🌟🌎

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NOW IN ENGLISH

🏛️🔍 FTC’s Court Loss Raises Fresh Questions About Its Chair’s Strategy 🏛️🔍

Lina Khan has said that a fear of defeat should not deter the agency from suing big tech companies. But after Microsoft won a ruling this week, her critics say that strategy is flawed.

Lina Khan became the chair of the Federal Trade Commission two years ago on a promise to bring bold action against the biggest tech companies. 🌟💪

“For too long,” Ms. Khan said at the time, “the agency had been a weak cop and needed to challenge behemoths like Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, and Google in the courts to stem their growing power. Even if the FTC lost the cases,” she later added, “they would be a partial victory because the agency would signal that antitrust laws needed to be updated for the modern internet era.”

But on Tuesday, Ms. Khan suffered the biggest blow yet to her hallmark agenda. A federal judge rejected the FTC’s attempt to stop Microsoft’s $70 billion acquisition of the video game maker Activision Blizzard from closing, saying the agency failed to prove the deal would reduce competition and harm consumers. On Wednesday, the FTC filed a notice that it would appeal the judge’s decision. ❌⚖️

That followed a loss in February when a judge rejected an FTC lawsuit seeking to block Meta from buying the virtual reality start-up Within. ❌🔍

The defeats raise questions about Ms. Khan’s ability to carry out her ambitious goal of reversing decades of weak antitrust enforcement, as political pressure mounts and patience wanes for the 34-year-old academic who has ruffled the feathers of corporate America. Ms. Khan’s critics are more emboldened and are speaking out more loudly to poke holes in her take-it-to-the-courts strategy, saying the losses are not even partial wins — they’re just losses. 🤔🔍👎

“I completely disagree with this approach,” Anthony Sabino, a professor of business and law at St. John’s University, said of Ms. Khan’s methods. “She’s trying to change a century’s worth of antitrust law overnight, and that’s not necessarily wise.” 😡🙅‍♂️

Adam Kovacevich, the chief executive of Chamber of Progress, a tech trade group, said the defeats made the FTC appear less credible. “All these court losses are making their threats look more like a paper tiger,” he said. 📉🐯

Others wondered if Ms. Khan was wasting the FTC’s resources on can’t-win cases. “They’ve crossed the line to being reckless with the cases they are bringing,” said Ashley Baker, a director of public policy for Committee for Justice, a conservative think tank. 😬🧐

The tide of criticism puts Ms. Khan in the hot seat as she prepares for further potential actions against the tech giants. The FTC has filed antitrust suits against Meta and could bring a case against Amazon, which it has been investigating over claims of illegal monopolization. 🌊⚖️

Now Ms. Khan will first have to defend herself. On Thursday, she is expected to be grilled at a House Judiciary Committee hearing on oversight of the FTC, with the Republican-led panel’s website saying it wants to “examine mismanagement of the FTC and its disregard for ethics and congressional oversight under Chair Lina Khan.” 🔥🗣️

Ms. Khan declined to comment for this article, and Douglas Farrar, an FTC spokesman, also declined to comment on how the court losses will affect her agenda. After the Microsoft-Activision ruling on Tuesday, Mr. Farrar said the agency was “disappointed in this outcome given the clear threat this merger poses to open competition in cloud gaming, subscription services, and consoles.” 🤐💬

Ms. Khan rose to fame while a Yale law student in 2017 when she argued in a paper for a law journal that Amazon was crushing competition and violating antitrust laws despite lowering prices for consumers. The paper helped kick off a debate about how to limit the tech giants and how to modernize antitrust practices. 📚💥

After President Biden picked Ms. Khan to lead the FTC, she repeatedly argued that it needed to go to court — win or lose — to send the tech industry a strong signal that the agency was becoming a tougher sheriff. Even losses in court, she maintained, would gradually reform theories of antitrust. ⚖️🏛️

Ms. Khan applied that thinking when the FTC sued to stop Meta last year from buying a small virtual-reality company, Within. The case was a surprise because virtual reality is a nascent technology, making it hard to argue that the deal would reduce competition in a market that has not yet formed. ❌🔍

But Ms. Khan argued that regulators must stop violations of competition and consumer protections at the bleeding edge of technology, not just in areas where the companies had already become behemoths. 💪🌐

“What we can see is that inaction after inaction after inaction can have severe costs,” she said in an interview with The New York Times and CNBC in January 2022. “And that’s what we’re really trying to reverse.” 💭🔄

Early this year, a federal judge rejected the FTC’s demand to block Meta’s acquisition of Within. But the judge agreed with some of the FTC’s arguments, including how the agency defined tech markets in the case. 🚫📉

The loss on Tuesday in the Microsoft-Activision case was more stinging, partly because the blockbuster merger has become a test of whether tech megadeals can go through despite rising regulatory scrutiny. Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California said consumers benefited from Microsoft’s expectation of a tough review, writing: “That scrutiny has paid off.” But her ruling left little else that was redeeming for the FTC. ❌⚖️

In the case, the agency argued that the deal should not close because it might harm competition. Microsoft might make some of Activision’s games exclusive to its Xbox game consoles or degrade the experience of playing games like Activision’s Call of Duty on competing consoles like Sony’s PlayStation. 🎮🕹️

But Judge Corley wrote that the FTC probably wouldn’t win its challenge to the merger if they go to the agency’s internal court and said, essentially, that Microsoft was doing enough to prevent rivals from being hurt. 💼✍️

“The FTC has not identified a single document which contradicts Microsoft’s publicly stated commitment to make Call of Duty available on PlayStation,” she wrote. 📝❌

Eleanor Fox, a professor emeritus at New York University’s law school, said it was too soon to have a verdict on Ms. Khan’s strategy. Elsewhere in the world, especially in the European Union and in Britain, regulators have also pursued antitrust actions against large tech companies, she noted. 🌍🔍

Ms. Khan, she said, “is only an outlier in the U.S., not globally.” 🌟🌎