President-elect Donald Trump’s pick of Andrew Ferguson to head the Federal Trade Commission is the latest sign that his administration plans to continue a crackdown on Big Tech bad actors that began during his first term in office, experts told The Post.
Ferguson, who has served as an FTC commissioner since April and is the former chief counsel to Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), has pledged to crack down on Big Tech censorship – though he is expected to take a far more deal-friendly approach.
The Republican regulator, who also once clerked for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, will replace current FTC Chair Lina Khan, a Democrat who routinely infuriated Wall Street with a hard-charging approach to antitrust enforcement and merger review.
Immediately after being announced as incoming chair, Ferguson said he would “end Big Tech’s vendetta against competition and free speech” and “make sure that America is the world’s technological leader and the best place for innovators to bring new ideas to life.”
“I think he’ll certainly bring the heat on Big Tech but will likely be more targeted in his approach than Chair Khan,” said Joel Thayer, a DC-based tech policy lawyer. “His recent concurrence on ad cartels is a key example of that.”
As recently as this month, Ferguson slammed the rise of “Big Tech censorship collusion” that blocked the flow of online discussion on everything from the COVID-19 pandemic to The Post’s exclusive reporting on Hunter Biden’s laptop.
Ferguson also called out groups like the now-defund Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) and NewsGuard for their role in stifling the flow of advertising dollars to outlets who are arbitrarily deemed risks to “brand safety.” The Republican warned that such organizations could be in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act.
Ferguson’s remarks echoed those of incoming FCC chairman Brendan Carr, an outspoken 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 free speech of all Americans,” Ferguson said in a Dec. 2 statement. “That authority includes the power to investigate collusion that may suppress competition and, in doing so, suppress free speech online. We ought to conduct such an investigation. And if our investigation reveals anti-competitive cartels that facilitate or promote censorship, we ought to bust them up.”
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 is focused on the company’s cloud-computing and artificial intelligence efforts.
Ferguson frequently objected to Khan’s aggressive crackdown on dealmaking – and plans to reverse it.
In a one-page memo circulated ahead of his nomination, Ferguson vowed to “reverse Lina Khan’s anti-business agenda,” including by instituting a repeal of what he described as “burdensome regulations.”
Ferguson also said he would “end the FTC’s attempt to become an AI regulator” and “stop Lina Khan’s war on mergers.”
“Based off of his dissents, it’s clear that Ferguson’s decisions are going to be a bit more measured than his predecessor,” added Thayer. “He seems very conscious of where the courts are on the administrative law issues.”
Trump also appointed Mark Meador, a former DOJ and FTC official who served as an antitrust policy adviser for Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), to serve as an FTC commissioner. Once confirmed, Meador will give the Republicans a majority at the agency.
Meador is known to be a Big Tech skeptic and is expected to support efforts to crack down on the industry’s efforts to stifle smaller rivals.
As The Post reported, Ferguson and Meador were both contenders for the FTC chair gig alongside fellow current Republican commissioner Melissa Holyoak, who drew scrutiny from anti-monopoly advocates over concerns that she would take a softer approach toward Big Tech.
As a current FTC commissioner, Ferguson does not need to be confirmed again by the Senate – a fact that Trump addressed by noting he will be “able to fight on behalf of the American people on Day One of my administration.”
“Andrew will be the most America First, and pro-innovation FTC Chair in our Country’s History,” Trump said.
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