Palomarez: Time for Lina Khan to Go Long Overdue

This article was originally featured on Newsmax and can be found on their website here.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been conducting a years-long campaign against America’s greatest companies.

They have done so under the guise of defending small business, but the nature of their lawsuits and complaints fail to recognize the symbiotic relationship between small business and corporations like Google, Microsoft, Apple, Meta, and Amazon.

A recent FTC lawsuit against Amazon raises serious concerns about the agency's priorities and the potential consequences for entrepreneurs.

The FTC's portrayal of Amazon as a giant crushing small businesses is far from the reality.

In fact, millions of small businesses account for 60% of sales on Amazon.

Rather than targeting one of the most important tools for elevating small businesses, the FTC should focus on entities that continually harm our communities.

Independent sellers, largely small and medium businesses, sold over 4 billion products on Amazon in 2022 and created an estimated 1.5 million jobs.

Similarly, in the same year, advertising features on Meta helped generate over $400 billion in economic activity and helped support over 3 million jobs. Google services supported over 18 million American businesses and provided over $700 billion in economic activity. The statistics go on and on

Despite these facts, FTC Chair Lina Khan has dangerously and relentlessly fought against Big Tech, risking harm to small businesses that are the backbone of our nation’s economy.

As someone who sees how much companies count on clear, predictable rules of the road applied equally to all, Khan’s approach is particularly troubling.

On Oct. 21, Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, ranking member of the U.S. Senate Antitrust Subcommittee, and Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, chair of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, sent a letter reminding Khan of the Hatch Act, "Federal law and FTC ethics rules prohibit you from participating in political events, and from using appropriated funds for any political activity."

The FTC has also recently lost two cases in which they attempted to block mergers involving Microsoft and Meta.

They failed to present more than mere speculation about the mergers potentially eliminating competition. This brings Khan’s strategy into question — whether she is sending a message or playing politics with America’s most successful companies.

Forcing all companies seeking to sell their businesses to go through this process is especially absurd when Khan herself acknowledged that with "98% of deals going through without even a second question, it is an issue on the margins."

Yet, for this marginal issue, she is adding significantly to the burden of notifying run-of-the-mill mergers and acquisitions to the agencies.

This disproportionate burden hits Hispanic-owned businesses particularly hard, as they are less likely to become publicly traded companies or receive years of venture capital investment.

These entrepreneurs rely on the opportunity to sell their companies to create generational wealth for their families and communities.

With strong bipartisan opposition to Lina Khan’s FTC, it’s critical that whichever administration wins in November replaces her.

Her misguided assault on iconic American companies is putting small businesses at risk and damaging our economy.

Major Democratic donors and influencers have lost faith in Khan, with LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman describing her as "a person who is not helping America," while former Obama campaign manager Jim Messina stated that he doesn't think "there will be any chance" that Khan is reconfirmed for another term.

Similarly, Republicans and the House Judiciary Committee have described Khan’s career as an "abuse of power, misuse of resources, and culture of fear."

The motives behind Khan’s crusade against American businesses, headlined by multiple failed lawsuits and bipartisan calls for her ousting, remain unclear.

However, when you consider her recent appearances on the campaign trail with Democratic leaders like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Sen. Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who has made going after Amazon a prominent part of his political identity, it’s possible that her disdain for Big Tech is politically motivated.

The House Oversight Committee has even opened a probe into these political activities.

On the side of protecting businesses, the FTC should focus its resources on going after bad actors who prey on would-be entrepreneurs.

It recently took a step in the right direction by acting against several companies making false claims about artificial intelligence capabilities.

Unfortunately, as Commissioners Melissa Holyoak and Andrew Ferguson noted in dissent, the FTC majority equated the potential for harm with actual harm in at least one case, undermining the legitimacy of such actions.

Lina Khan’s personal ambitions and destructive approach must be stopped for the wellbeing of our economy and small businesses.