Saturday, July 10, 2021

Lina Khan: Pakistani-American Law Professor Behind Biden's Pro-competition Executive Order

US President Joseph R. Biden  has signed a sweeping executive order to promote competition in a wide range of industries from big tech to telecommunications, transportation, banking and healthcare. This order has come within weeks of the appointment of young Pakistani-American law professor Lina Khan as the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) chairperson. Lina Khan, 32, is the youngest FTC chairperson in American history. She now holds one of the most powerful positions in the US government. 

Biden Handing Pen to Lina Khan After Signing Executive Order


Biden's executive order includes 72 initiatives for federal agencies, targeting issues such as excessive early termination fees charged by internet companies, which hinder users from switching service providers. It calls for the end of noncompete agreements that block workers from moving to rival employers, according to Nikkei Asia.  “Capitalism without competition isn’t capitalism. It’s exploitation,” Mr. Biden said before signing the order. “Without healthy competition, big players can change and charge whatever they want, and treat you however they want. And for too many Americans that means accepting a bad deal for things that you can’t go without.”

Lina's 2017 seminal paper entitled "Amazon's Anti-trust Paradox" broke new ground in the application of anti-trust law against powerful technology monopolies like Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google and Twitter. Traditionally, the US anti-trust actions have been focused on keeping consumer prices low. This narrow focus has helped big technology companies companies like Amazon, with its low prices, or Google and Facebook with their “free” services, to avoid anti-trust scrutiny.   

Lina was born in London in 1989 to Pakistani parents who migrated to the United States when she was 11. She graduated from Williams College with a BA degree and then studied law at Yale University. She is now an associate professor at Columbia Law School in New York City. 

Anti-Trust Scholar Lina Khan


US tech companies are facing increasing scrutiny in Washington over their growing size and power.  In October 2019, an investigation by the House Judiciary Committee issued a 449-page report. It accused the big technology companies of charging high fees, forcing smaller customers into unfavorable contracts and of using "killer acquisitions" to constrain competitors. "To put it simply, companies that once were scrappy, underdog startups that challenged the status quo have become the kinds of monopolies we last saw in the era of oil barons and railroad tycoons," it said. The appointment of Lina Khan as FTC commissioner sends a clear signal to the US tech giants that the Biden administration means business. 

Lina Khan acknowledges the popularity of the convenience and the free services offered by the large technology giants like Amazon, Facebook and Google but she worries about the longer-term implications of their anti-competitive behavior. “As consumers, as users, we love these tech companies,” she said. “But as citizens, as workers, and as entrepreneurs, we recognize that their power is troubling. We need a new framework, a new vocabulary for how to assess and address their dominance", she told the New York Times.     

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Biden Handing Pen to Lina Khan After Signing Executive Order

Biden's executive order includes 72 initiatives for federal agencies, targeting issues such as excessive early termination fees charged by internet companies, which hinder users from switching service providers. It calls for the end of noncompete agreements that block workers from moving to rival employers, according to Nikkei Asia.  “Capitalism without competition isn’t capitalism. It’s exploitation,” Mr. Biden said before signing the order. “Without healthy competition, big players can change and charge whatever they want, and treat you however they want. And for too many Americans that means accepting a bad deal for things that you can’t go without.”

Lina's 2017 seminal paper entitled "Amazon's Anti-trust Paradox" broke new ground in the application of anti-trust law against powerful technology monopolies like Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google and Twitter. Traditionally, the US anti-trust actions have been focused on keeping consumer prices low. This narrow focus has helped big technology companies companies like Amazon, with its low prices, or Google and Facebook with their “free” services, to avoid anti-trust scrutiny.   

Lina was born in London in 1989 to Pakistani parents who migrated to the United States when she was 11. She graduated from Williams College with a BA degree and then studied law at Yale University. She is now an associate professor at Columbia Law School in New York City. 

Anti-Trust Scholar Lina Khan


US tech companies are facing increasing scrutiny in Washington over their growing size and power.  In October 2019, an investigation by the House Judiciary Committee issued a 449-page report. It accused the big technology companies of charging high fees, forcing smaller customers into unfavorable contracts and of using "killer acquisitions" to constrain competitors. "To put it simply, companies that once were scrappy, underdog startups that challenged the status quo have become the kinds of monopolies we last saw in the era of oil barons and railroad tycoons," it said. The appointment of Lina Khan as FTC commissioner sends a clear signal to the US tech giants that the Biden administration means business. 

Lina Khan acknowledges the popularity of the convenience and the free services offered by the large technology giants like Amazon, Facebook and Google but she worries about the longer-term implications of their anti-competitive behavior. “As consumers, as users, we love these tech companies,” she said. “But as citizens, as workers, and as entrepreneurs, we recognize that their power is troubling. We need a new framework, a new vocabulary for how to assess and address their dominance", she told the New York Times.     

Related Links:


Haq's Musings

New York's Little Pakistan

Pakistan is the 3rd Largest Source of Foreign Doctors in America

Pakistani-Americans: Young, Well-educated and Prosperous

Pakistani-American Population Growth 2nd Fastest Among Asian-Americans

Silicon Valley Pakistani-Americans

A Dozen British Pakistanis in UK Pariament

Obama Honors Pakistani-American Doctor With Top Technology Award

OPEN Silicon Valley Forum 2017: Pakistani Entrepreneurs Conference

Pakistani-American's Tech Unicorn Files For IPO at $1.6 Billion Valuation

Pakistani-American Cofounders Sell Startup to Cisco for $610 million

Pakistani Brothers Spawned $20 Billion Security Software Industry

Pakistani-American Ashar Aziz's Fireeye Goes Public

Pakistani-American Pioneered 3D Technology in Orthodontics

Pakistani-Americans Enabling 2nd Machine Revolution

Pakistani-American Shahid Khan Richest South Asian in America

Two Pakistani-American Silicon Valley Techs Among Top 5 VC Deals

Pakistani-American's Game-Changing Vision 



6 comments:

Ahmed said...


Dear Sir

Thanks for sharing this news, as far as I know, President Biden has very good relations with Pakistani community in America.According to a news source when he became President the 1st thing he did was he called "Pakistani community" in America and invited them to join his administration.

Sir but the problem is that President Biden is not talking to PM Imran Khan.

Riaz Haq said...

#British #Pakistani Professor Munir Kamal of Judge Business School appointed Pro Vice Chancellor of the prestigious #Cambridge University in #England. He's 1 of 5 Pro-Vice-Chancellors, who assist the Vice-Chancellor #education #business #economy #strategy https://www.staff.admin.cam.ac.uk/general-news/dr-kamal-munir-appointed-pro-vice-chancellor-university-community-and-engagement

Dr Munir is a Reader in Strategy and Policy at the Judge Business School, and is Academic Director at the Centre for Strategic Philanthropy. He is a University Race and Inclusion Champion, and is a Fellow of Homerton College.

In his role as Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Dr Munir will provide leadership on matters relating to the University’s community, with an emphasis on staff and external engagement. These areas of responsibility have increased significantly in recent years and are a priority area for the University.

Dr Munir’s new role takes over from Professor Eilis Ferran, who will complete her term in office as Pro‑Vice‑Chancellor for Institutional and International Relations at the end of this academic year. The international portfolio will be combined with the Pro‑Vice‑Chancellor (Research) role, since there are important synergies between the University’s international and research activities.

Dr Munir will lead the development and implementation of strategy and policy relating to all staff (academic and professional services). Building on the foundations put down during Professor Ferran’s tenure, he will have a focus on equality and diversity. The University’s aim is to stand out among its international peers for the excellence of its practice in this area. Dr Munir will also further develop the University’s considerable collections both as an important teaching and research resource, and in engagement with those outside the University community: locally, regionally, nationally and internationally.

There are five Pro-Vice-Chancellors, whose roles provide academic leadership to the University and support the Vice-Chancellor. They work as a team with the Heads of the Schools, the Registrary, the Chief Financial Officer and other senior colleagues, to ensure that the University maintains and enhances its contribution to society and its global academic standing.

Terry A. said...

This is just a dog & pony show by the Falthoo Sleepy Joe !!!! …… who is he trying to fool by signing such a bullshit Executive Order ???

Does anyone think that Giants like Amazon , Google,
Facebook, Apple , Netflix etc ……. Just to name a few Companies who RULE The Planet at their whims and fancies are going to be shaking in their boots and follow this order ????? No way Jose !!!!

Microsoft & Intel played these same games of MONOPOLIES in the 1980’s & 1990’s against smaller rivals like Apple , Oracle , AMD…… during those years and tried to crush them out of business just because they had 100’s of Billions in their Bank Accounts in filthy Profits ………. And when the Federal Govt filed Anti Trust Lawsuits against Microsoft & Intel …..guess what happened ???

Microsoft paid $ 5 Billion to Apple & Oracle & Intel paid $ 1.5 Billion to AMD …….. in peanut compensation- But Microsoft had already made 75 Billion & Intel about 50 Billion in profits over the 20 years they screwed their weaker rivals ……. ASK ME SINCE I WAS AT AMD FOR 28 years -

So today Apple far surpasses Microsoft & AMD is 2-3 years ahead of Intel in 5 - 7 NM Technology !!!!

All the Feds can do is try to break up these Giants of today into smaller companies…….. BUT THESE FEDERAL IDIOTS IN THE SEC WERE THE SAME DONKEYS ( Liberal DemoCraps & Thugs of Billy Clinton & ODrama / Biden ) WHO GAVE THE APPROVALS TO Facebook, Apple , Google , Amazon……to BUY OUT dozens of smaller companies over the past 2 decades…… 😱😱😱and that is Simply WHY THEY ARE GIANTS TODAY !!!!!
And now ……The FEDS want to break them up again
Which makes those companies MORE POWERFUL
AND PROFITABLE ????🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵…… ask our
Guru Safwan and he will no doubt concur ?

Food for thought ???……. And Good Luck to the Genius Lina Khan ( no pun intended !! ) who is brilliant in her own right and Talents !!!! ……. But she has little or no chance of Toppling the GIANTS !!!

Ahmed said...



Dear Sir

Is it possible that this Pakistani lady who is elected at such important position can play her role in minimizing or reducing the monopoly which Indians have setup at youtube and google?

Sir since Sundar has become CEO of google, many Indians have created their account on gmail and they use this gmail account to log into youtube as by default youtube uses gmail account to create its user accounts.

Indians have badly setup their monopoly over youtube since this has happened, if they find any Pakistani user of youtube who speaks the truth about Indians and exposes their reality in the comment section of youtube, the moderator of youtube immediately blocks that Pakistani user from using youtube website. Although Pakistani users are able to log into youtube using their gmail account but suddenly the page of "TERMS AND CONDITION" appears as soon as the user logs into their website and the user can't proceed to youtube videos on that youtube website.

Ahmed said...


Mr. Terry A

I agree with you but Sir, I think this even happens in other countries. Big and large companies buy small companies. These mergers of companies also happens in Europe and other countries. Lets suppose if their is a small and less revenue generating company ,that company which is not generating enough profit will always look for a large company to buy it.

Once large companies buy small companies, the small companies save themselves from major losses which they can face in the future.

If facebook, google and amazon have bought small companies, then the owners or CEOs of that small companies might have agreed to sale their small companies to these giant companies as they want to save these companies from major losses which they can face in the future or their is a possibility that the owner or CEO of these small companies might not be able to run these companies in an effective and efficient way.

Thanks

Riaz Haq said...

Lina Khan Is Taking on the World’s Biggest Tech Companies—and Losing
FTC chair’s court loss against Microsoft marks another setback in her fight to block mergers

https://www.wsj.com/articles/lina-khan-is-taking-on-the-worlds-biggest-tech-companiesand-losing-9d8d003e

WASHINGTON—Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan is taking on the world’s biggest technology companies—and losing.

Khan failed Tuesday in her latest effort to block a big-tech deal when a federal judge denied her agency’s bid to block Microsoft MSFT 1.42%increase; green up pointing triangle from closing its purchase of videogame publisher Activision Blizzard ATVI -1.09%decrease; red down pointing triangle. The FTC suffered a similar setback earlier this year when it tried to thwart Meta Platforms’ purchase of a virtual-reality gaming company.

Khan, who gained prominence as a critic of Amazon.com, entered office in 2021 vowing to stiffen antitrust enforcement. Past enforcers were too cautious about bringing tough cases, she has said, and failed to confront the rise of companies such as Facebook owner Meta that gained monopoly-like power in digital industries, she said.

“I’m certainly not someone who thinks success is marked by a 100% court record,” Khan said last year in remarks at the University of Chicago. “If you just never bring those hard cases, I think there is severe cost to that, that can lead to stagnation and stasis.”

Khan is set to testify Thursday before the House Judiciary Committee, whose Republican leadership is investigating her agency’s oversight of Twitter and her adherence to federal ethics rules. Republicans say the FTC is harassing Twitter over data-security practices and because Khan and other progressives unhappy with Elon Musk’s acquisition of the company.

Khan is also expected to be grilled on her antitrust record, including the case against Microsoft, and her decisions to not recuse herself from cases involving Amazon and Facebook owner Meta, both companies she publicly criticized.

Under the Biden administration, antitrust agencies have challenged more mergers than in previous years, including some that historically the government wouldn’t have tried to block. Microsoft and Activision aren’t head-to-head competitors, making the case against the deal less straightforward and more dependent on the FTC’s prediction that the combined company would abuse its power to hurt competition in the future.

In her opinion issued Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley wrote that the FTC failed to show evidence backing up its claim that Microsoft was likely to withhold Activision’s blockbuster games from competitors such as Sony. The judge found instead that Microsoft had made commitments to share Activision’s content, which would expand consumers’ access to its biggest game franchise, Call of Duty.

Douglas Farrar, an FTC spokesman, said the merger posed a “clear threat” to competition and suggested the agency could soon announce an appeal. “In the coming days we’ll be announcing our next step to continue our fight to preserve competition and protect consumers,” he said.

Antitrust attorneys say the FTC’s case against Microsoft resembles an earlier attempt to block a gargantuan media deal: AT&T’s acquisition of Time Warner.

Both cases were examples of vertical mergers, a type of deal that courts generally regard as beneficial to consumers. When a vertical deal looked problematic, the government often sought a company’s commitment to maintain the status quo regarding competition. The Justice Department’s 2017 lawsuit to block AT&T-Time Warner’s deal was the first litigated vertical-merger challenge in 40 years.

Both cases also involved claims that the buyer would harm competition by making must-have entertainment exclusive to its own platform or devices. That didn’t work for the Justice Department, which lost the A&T case at a district court and on appeal.