The Committee on the Judiciary has been investigating the politicization of the Federal
Trade Commission (FTC) under far-left Chair Lina Khan. This report details new information
about the weaponization of the Biden-Harris FTC, under Chair Khan’s direction, against Elon
Musk following his acquisition of social media platform Twitter. Based on new documents
obtained from the FTC, the evidence is stark that—contrary to Chair Khan’s denials—the FTC
finalized a consent decree against Twitter due to Musk’s pending acquisition.
This report builds on the Committee’s growing body of evidence that Chair Khan has
politicized the FTC, centralized power and control in her office, and made decisions that
undermine the credibility and legitimacy of the FTC as a nominally independent federal agency.
In March 2023, the Committee issued a report detailing how the FTC used its consumer
protection authority and an ongoing consent decree as a pretext to harass Twitter in the months
following Elon Musk’s acquisition of the company. The Committee exposed how the Biden-
Harris FTC sought detailed information about journalists working to “expose abuses by Big Tech
and the federal government.” With Chair Khan’s support, FTC staff sought sensitive operational
information about every department in Twitter, regardless of whether the department had
anything to do with privacy or data security, among other burdensome demands. The Committee
documented how the FTC’s effort was an inherently politically motivated attempt to stifle
Twitter at a time when Musk was taking steps to “reorient Twitter around free speech.”
In a separate report in February 2024, the Committee detailed how Chair Khan has
neglected and mismanaged the agency “in furtherance of her personal pursuit of political and
ideological aims.” After reviewing documents produced by the FTC and interviewing career
managers who revealed major leadership deficits at the FTC, the Committee reported that Chair
Khan consolidated power in the Chair’s Office, ignored warnings from career staff, and limited
operational transparency within the agency.
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judiciary.house.gov
Tom |
