Why are Facebook and Amazon afraid of Lina Khan?

Here’s what you need to know about the brewing battle between Khan and some of the world’s biggest tech firms.

Most Americans can’t name the chair of the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) – the nation’s antitrust watchdog – because the position normally doesn’t attract widespread attention. But Lina Khan is changing that. The 32-year-old associate professor of law at Columbia University (currently on leave as she serves in government) has Big Tech up in arms, and the FTC may be poised to take more definitive antitrust action than it has in decades. Since she was named FTC chair by US President Joe Biden in mid-June, two tech giants — Amazon and Facebook — have filed petitions to have her recused from decisions concerning them.