Washington, D.C. — As Lina Khan’s historic term at the Federal Trade Commission concludes today, the American Economic Liberties Project released the following statement congratulating her on the unprecedented accomplishments the agency secured under her leadership.

“Chair Khan’s tenure will be remembered as a watershed moment in the fight against corporate concentration — and her legacy will long outlast her time at the Commission,” said Nidhi Hegde, Executive Director of the American Economic Liberties Project. “She revitalized the agency’s original mission of protecting consumers and competition, securing major victories while facing a constant barrage of attacks by big business and Wall Street mouthpieces. Khan built an an FTC that listens to the concerns of everyday Americans, embraces transparency, and challenges entrenched monopolies like Amazon and Meta that thought themselves untouchable. Notably, Khan’s leadership has proven that effective governance bridges partisan divides as Americans and policymakers of all political persuasions have praised her steadfast commitment to stand up for consumers, workers, and small businesses.”

“Chair Khan has not only brought enforcement back to the FTC but has reimagined what is possible in the fight for competitive markets and a fair economy,” added Hegde. “Her many accomplishments, from lowering the price of life-saving drugs like asthma inhalers to blocking mega mergers like Kroger-Albertsons to leading the charge against junk fees and noncompetes, have shown what a modern FTC that uses all its authority can deliver for the American people. The fight for a fair economy is far from over, but it’s clear that future FTC chairs will always be compared against her legacy. Our nation and economy owe her an enduring debt of gratitude.”

Since taking office in 2021, Chair Lina Khan’s FTC has compiled an extraordinary record of service to the American public. Highlights of her tenure include:

• Along with DOJ, finalized the 2023 Merger Guidelines, marking the most comprehensive update in decades and reestablishing clear standards for blocking anticompetitive mergers. Federal courts have already embraced these guidelines in landmark cases.
• Filed a groundbreaking lawsuit against Amazon, challenging its monopolistic practices that harm consumers, workers, and independent businesses. This case represents the most significant antitrust challenge to Amazon in the company’s history.
• Finalized a near-total ban on exploitative noncompete clauses, projected to boost wages by $400 billion annually and restore labor market freedom for tens of millions of workers.
• Successfully challenged numerous mergers, including Kroger-Albertsons, Nvidia-ARM, Tapestry-Capri, IQVIA-Propel, Illumina-Grail and more which would have further entrenched corporate consolidation in critical sectors like groceries, technology, and healthcare.
• Reinvigorated enforcement of the Robinson-Patman Act, a long-dormant law designed to prevent price discrimination by big corporations, through two separate cases against PepsiCo and Southern Glazer’s — major victories for smaller and independent businesses.
• Filed lawsuits against Meta and other tech giants for anticompetitive practices and data abuses, signaling an era of accountability for Silicon Valley.
• Launched a crackdown on deceptive junk fees, projected to save Americans billions over the next decade, while also returning hundreds of millions of dollars to consumers harmed by corporate fraud.
• Took sweeping action to crack down on anticompetitive behavior in the pharmaceutical industry, including challenging over 300 improper Orange Book patent listings that kept life-saving medicines like asthma inhalers prohibitively expensive. These efforts forced pharmaceutical firms to delist patents, spurring competition and lowering prices for patients.
• Launched investigations into pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) for engaging in illegal rebate schemes and price manipulation that inflated drug costs and hurt patients and independent pharmacies. The FTC’s interim report exposed how PBMs drive up prices for drugs like insulin and led the agency to prepare enforcement actions against PBMs.
• Along with DOJ, modernized the Hart-Scott-Rodino premerger notification process and created public comment portals for merger reviews, giving workers, small businesses, and consumers a voice in antitrust enforcement.
• Imposed record-setting fines on companies like Microsoft and Amazon for violations of children’s privacy laws and introduced rules to combat invasive data collection practices.
• Fought for stronger protections against predatory practices in sectors like healthcare, retail, and franchising, ensuring fair competition and opportunity.

Learn more about FTC Chair Khan’s accomplishments here.

Learn more about Economic Liberties here.

###

The American Economic Liberties Project works to ensure America’s system of commerce is structured to advance, rather than undermine, economic liberty, fair commerce, and a secure, inclusive democracy. Economic Liberties believes true economic liberty means entrepreneurs and businesses large and small succeed on the merits of their ideas and hard work; commerce empowers consumers, workers, farmers, and engineers instead of subjecting them to discrimination and abuse from financiers and monopolists; foreign trade arrangements support domestic security and democracy; and wealth is broadly distributed to support equitable political power.