Facebook Wants FTC Chair off Antitrust Case

In what could be a preemptive lawful go, Facebook is looking for the recusal of U.S. Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan from the agency’s antitrust scenario in opposition to the company.

Khan’s recusal is warranted, Facebook said in a court docket submitting, due to the fact as a longtime critic of Facebook, she “cannot meet up with any regular for neutrality that would permit her to take part in any determination-making regarding the FTC’s pending antitrust litigation.”

Lina M. Khan

The submitting came as the FTC is deciding how to proceed with the scenario in the wake of a judge’s determination final thirty day period granting Facebook’s movement to dismiss it. He gave the fee thirty days to file an amended grievance.

If Khan was to be recused, “there most likely wouldn’t be a vast majority [on the 5-member fee] to sue Facebook again,” The Wall Street Journal said, noting that the FTC’s two Republican commissioners voted in opposition to submitting the first grievance in December.

The recusal petition is “the hottest signal that big technology businesses are favoring aggression over a conciliatory method with Ms. Khan,” in accordance to the Journal.

Amazon, which is below investigation by the FTC, is also looking for her recusal.

President Joe Biden nominated Khan to the FTC in March as element of his energy to revitalize the agency’s antitrust enforcement. He made her chairperson in June just after her nomination was confirmed by the Senate.

The Facebook fit alleges the company violated antitrust regulation by shopping for up businesses this kind of as WhatsApp and Instagram to prevent them from demanding its current market position.

In its petition, Facebook cites Khan’s operate for the Open up Markets Institute, a progressive antitrust advocacy team that opposed Facebook’s acquisition of nascent competition, and on a congressional panel that proposed lawmakers get steps to rein in massive on the web platforms.

“Chair Khan, nicely before getting to be a commissioner, had already decided the materials details related to Facebook’s liability in the commission’s pending antitrust lawsuit and already attained lawful conclusions that Facebook was liable below the antitrust regulations,” the petition argues.

Khan has said beforehand that she would seek the advice of with FTC ethics officials if recusal queries arose.

antitrust, Facebook, Federal Trade Commission, Lina Khan, recusal