Christine Wilsonthe only Republican on the commission of the US Federal Trade Commission, announced hers resignation through an article written for the Wall Street Journal, pointing the finger at the management of the Democrat Lina Khan, responsible in his opinion for “abuse of power”. This could represent a real earthquake for theftc extension and therefore prove to be an indirect advantage for the acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft.
“I have repeatedly failed to persuade Khan and her supporters to do the right thing, and I refuse to give their attempt any further hint of legitimacy by staying,” Wilson wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed.
Wilson, who has publicly criticized Khan’s efforts to crack down on corporate powers using antitrust laws in recent months, said she would step down over the “abuse of power” perpetrated by the Khan to obtain “the desired results”.
Meta’s takeover of Within is cited as an example, in which Khan had to be excluded from the vote of the FTC (which as we know ultimately thwarted the maneuver, without success), because before assuming the command of the commission he had expressed the opinion that Zuckerberg’s company shouldn’t be able to make any more acquisitions.
Wilson also challenged other decisions by Khan, such as regulation seeking to ban most non-compete clauses, which Wilson says exceeds the agency’s authority.
With Wilson’s resignation, the FTC will have only three members of the expected five: Khan and Democrats Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya. Former Commissioner Noah Joshua Phillips, a Republican, resigned in October, also criticizing the FTC’s work, albeit not as blatantly.
As you probably know, the FTC is trying to block the acquisition of Activision Blizzard with a lawsuit that will be discussed in the next few weeks in court, which the Microsoft lawyer apparently thinks she can win rather easily.
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