When she was sworn in as chair of the Federal Trade Commission in mid-2021, Lina Khan was hailed as the antitrust sheriff who would rein in Big Tech. More than 18 months later, critics say the respected academic has been ineffectual so far in the rough-and-tumble world of politics and big business. Tagged with all-but-impossible expectations and saddled with musty antitrust laws that hinder her ability to prosecute tech’s biggest players, Khan finds herself and the FTC at a problematic crossroads, a handful of antitrust experts told MarketWatch.
Khan has so far not shown the political savvy or the organizational skill to be able to crack down on Big Tech, as the Biden administration has vowed to do — but not all of that is her fault, many observers say. “Five years out of law school and they’re trying to turn her into a savior,” said Larry Downes, co-author of a recent Harvard Business Review piece on the new era of antitrust litigation. “She came into the job with basically no experience in running a large organization and litigating cases. It wasn’t fair. The decision to name her as chair before becoming a commissioner was a nod to the progressive wing of the party,” Downes told MarketWatch. From 2021: New FTC chair Li …