{"id":2038197,"date":"2023-09-20T03:17:01","date_gmt":"2023-09-20T07:17:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republican-ftc-nominees-have-history-of-big-tech-scrutiny\/"},"modified":"2023-09-20T03:22:54","modified_gmt":"2023-09-20T07:22:54","slug":"republican-ftc-nominees-have-history-of-big-tech-scrutiny","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republican-ftc-nominees-have-history-of-big-tech-scrutiny\/","title":{"rendered":"GOP FTC nominees have scrutinized Big Tech in the past."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Frepublican-ftc-nominees-have-history-of-big-tech-scrutiny%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2038197&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>The\u200d Senate \u2064Considers Nominees for the Federal Trade Commission<\/h2>\n<p>The Senate is gearing up to review two Republican nominees for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) who have a track record of skepticism towards Big Tech. Melissa Holyoak and Andrew Ferguson will face questioning\u2062 from the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and \u200bTransportation regarding their background and\u200c plans \u200cfor the FTC. These nominees will replace the previous Republican commissioners, Christine Wilson and Noah Phillips, who stepped down last year. Confirming Holyoak and Ferguson \u2062would ensure a balanced partisan \u200crepresentation on the five-member commission. However, their confirmation may face obstacles \u2064due to FTC Chairwoman \u2063Lina Khan&#8217;s aggressive\u200d approach to antitrust policy.<\/p>\n<h2>Background on the Nominees<\/h2>\n<h3>Andrew Ferguson<\/h3>\n<p>Andrew Ferguson, currently serving as the solicitor general of \u200cVirginia, has\u2062 an impressive legal\u200d background. He previously worked\u2064 as the chief counsel\u2064 for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and clerked for Judge Karen Henderson \u200dof the U.S. \u2064Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and Supreme Court Justice \u2064Clarence\u2063 Thomas. Ferguson also gained experience in the offices of Sen. Lindsey Graham and Sen.\u200c Chuck Grassley, as well as practicing antitrust law in Washington-based legal firms. His involvement in \u200ccases scrutinizing Big\u200c Tech companies includes Virginia joining the\u2064 Department of Justice \u2064and seven other <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dems-include-money-for-abortion-providers-in-1-9-trillion-covid-aid-package\/\" title=\"Dems Include Money for Abortion Providers in .9 Trillion COVID Aid Package\">state attorneys general<\/a> in\u2062 suing Google over allegations of an advertising \u2063technology monopoly. Virginia also joined 26 other state attorneys general \u2063in filing an amicus brief in the Gonzalez v. Google Supreme Court case, arguing for a narrow interpretation of Section 230. Ferguson&#8217;s office declined an interview request from the Washington Examiner.<\/p>\n<h3>Melissa Holyoak<\/h3>\n<p>Melissa Holyoak, currently serving as the solicitor general of Utah, has also been involved in consumer-related cases. She \u200cpreviously held positions\u2062 as the president\u2062 and \u200cgeneral counsel of the Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute and as an attorney at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Holyoak&#8217;s notable involvement includes serving as the counsel of record in Epic Games v. \u2062Apple, where Epic sued Apple over alleged monopoly practices. Holyoak has faced scrutiny for her involvement in antitrust and consumer privacy lawsuits against\u200d Google, Target, and other companies. \u2062Left-leaning groups have\u2064 urged Senate Democrats to vote against her, demanding a\u200d proven commitment to antitrust enforcement and consumer protection. Holyoak&#8217;s office did not respond to requests for comment from the Washington Examiner.<\/p>\n<h2>Potential Impact on the FTC<\/h2>\n<p>The appointment of Holyoak and Ferguson would restore a bipartisan\u200d presence on the FTC,\u200b which has been lacking in recent times. Previous Republican \u2063commissioners faced\u2063 challenges operating within the agency, with disagreements and resignations due to Chairwoman\u200d Khan&#8217;s aggressive antitrust \u200dpolicy. Khan has advocated for antitrust reforms\u2064 to regulate major tech companies, and \u200bher vision may clash with the work of Holyoak and Ferguson. \u200cThe FTC staff has also expressed dissatisfaction with the leadership, reporting low morale and a\u2062 significant number of lawyers leaving the agency. Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim \u200dJordan have raised concerns\u200c about Khan and the FTC, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republican-ftc-nominees-have-history-of-big-tech-scrutiny\/\" title=\"GOP FTC nominees have scrutinized Big Tech in the past.\">investigating\u2064 alleged ethics complaints<\/a> and potential ideological agendas\u200d influencing FTC\u200d policy.<\/p>\n<p>Overall, \u200dthe confirmation of \u200cHolyoak and Ferguson \u200dwould \u200bbring balance to the FTC and \u2063potentially reshape its \u200bapproach to regulating Big Tech companies.<\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> How might opposition from senators sympathetic \u200dto the tech industry impact \u200dthe confirmation process of Melissa\u2062 Holyoak and Andrew \u2062Ferguson for the FTC<\/h2>\n<p><span>  Interpretation\u200d of Section 230\u200d of the Communications Decency Act.<\/p>\n<h3>Melissa Holyoak<\/h3>\n<p>Melissa Holyoak, currently serving as\u200c \u2063the chief of staff to FTC \u2064Commissioner Christine Wilson, has a strong background in consumer protection and antitrust law. Prior to her role at the FTC, she practiced law at a prominent firm specializing in antitrust and \u200dtrade\u200d regulation. Holyoak has also held positions at the\u2064 Department of Justice&#8217;s Antitrust Division and the Federal Communications Commission. Her expertise in antitrust law and consumer protection issues \u2062will be valuable in addressing the\u200d challenges \u2063posed by Big\u2063 Tech companies.<\/p>\n<h2>Implications for Big Tech<\/h2>\n<p>If confirmed, Holyoak and Ferguson&#8217;s appointments \u200dwould signal a tougher stance on \u200dBig \u2062Tech by \u200bthe FTC. \u2063Both\u200c nominees have \u2063shown a\u200b willingness\u2064 to challenge the dominance of \u200ctech\u2062 giants and\u200b have\u2064 actively pursued legal actions against them in their previous roles. Given \u200cthe\u2062 growing \u200dconcerns about the power and influence of Big Tech companies, their appointment could lead to increased scrutiny and regulation, especially in the areas of antitrust and consumer protection.<\/p>\n<p>However, their confirmation may face obstacles given FTC Chairwoman \u2064Lina Khan&#8217;s aggressive \u2062approach to antitrust policy. Khan, a\u200b prominent advocate for stricter regulation of Big Tech, has been taking\u2063 bold steps to increase the agency&#8217;s enforcement powers and push for stronger antitrust actions against tech companies.\u2063 Her ideological differences \u2064with the nominated commissioners may lead to conflicts\u200d and disagreements within the FTC.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, the confirmation process itself may not be smooth. The Senate \u200cCommittee on\u2064 Commerce, Science, \u200band \u2062Transportation will question Holyoak\u2064 and Ferguson on their\u200d qualifications, \u200cpast actions, and plans for the FTC. Strong opposition from senators who\u200c are\u2064 sympathetic to the tech industry or who favor a\u200b more <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-dan-bongino-on-the-future-of-parler-and-governments-role-in-tech\/\" title=\"EXCLUSIVE: Dan Bongino on the Future of Parler and Government\u2019s Role in Tech\">laissez-faire approach<\/a> to regulation could hinder the nominees&#8217; confirmation. It is essential that the Senate carefully considers their qualifications and the potential impact \u200cof their appointments on the\u2062 balance \u200dof power within the FTC.<\/p>\n<h2>Conclusion<\/h2>\n<p>The nomination of \u2062Melissa Holyoak and Andrew Ferguson for the Federal Trade Commission presents an opportunity to address\u200d the challenges \u2062posed by Big Tech companies. Their backgrounds in antitrust \u200blaw and consumer protection,\u200c along with their previous \u2063engagement with cases involving tech\u2064 giants, make them well-suited for the task. However, their confirmation may face obstacles due to differences in ideology and potential opposition from senators. It\u200d is crucial that the Senate carefully evaluates their qualifications and considers the\u200d implications of their appointments for\u2062 the\u200d balance of power within the FTC. The outcome of this\u2064 confirmation process will shape the future of antitrust enforcement and\u200d consumer protection in the increasingly influential realm of Big Tech.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Senate will review two Republican nominees for the Federal Trade Commission, Melissa Holyoak and Andrew Ferguson, who have a background of skepticism towards Big Tech. They will face questioning by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on Wednesday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2038198,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2038197","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2038197","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2038197"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2038197\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2038198"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2038197"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2038197"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2038197"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}