Lina Khan is the chair of the Federal Trade Commission and is leading the charge against corporate monopolies in the U.S. She has sued companies in various industries, including Big Tech, Big Pharma, and Big Grocery, to prevent anti-competitive mergers and practices. Khan believes that when companies are not disciplined by competition, they can abuse their customers, creating a sense of indignity for consumers. She draws inspiration from the Golden Age of trust-busting and aims to hold big businesses accountable for their actions.
Khan’s biggest case so far has been against Amazon, where she argues that the retailer’s tactics unfairly punish sellers over prices. Amazon has pushed back, stating that its practices benefit customers by providing good deals. Khan’s scrutiny of Amazon began during her time as a law school student and has continued to garner attention and praise from supporters, as well as criticism from critics who view her as an overreaching, anti-business crusader. Despite the backlash, Khan remains focused on enforcing the rule of law to address the problems people face in their day-to-day lives.
The next move for Khan and the FTC is to investigate pharmacy benefit managers, including OptumRx, Express Scripts, and CVS Caremark. Independent pharmacists have raised concerns about these middlemen hurting their bottom lines and patients, leading to the closure of more than 300 independent pharmacies in 2023. Khan has met with pharmacists to listen to their concerns and has vowed to take action to address the issues they are facing. She wants corporate America to be on alert that monopolies are not acceptable, whether in the board game or in the real world.
Despite facing criticism and pushback from some quarters, including labeling her as a bully and a wrecking crew for stock portfolios, Khan remains steadfast in her mission to hold businesses accountable for anti-competitive practices. She believes that decades of government laxity towards big business have led to costly consequences, such as the consolidation of the aerospace industry. Khan is determined to reverse this trend and ensure that companies are not able to abuse their market power at the expense of consumers. Her aggressive approach to enforcing competition laws has put corporate America on notice that monopolies will not be tolerated.
