Amazon wants FTC Chair Lina Khan to recuse herself in antitrust probe

Amazon said it wants the new head of the Federal Trade Commission to recuse herself from any antitrust probes of the e-commerce giant, arguing that her past criticisms of the company show she can’t treat it fairly. 

Lina Khan, a 32-year-old legal prodigy who was confirmed as head of the FTC just two weeks ago, is reportedly probing the company’s $8.5 billion acquisition of MGM Studios. Prior to becoming FTC head, Khan wrote extensively on antitrust and Amazon in both legal and popular media. For example, in a 2014 Quartz op-ed, Khan wrote that “Amazon has a monopoly in books” and a “dominant position in our economy.” In a 2017 Yale Law Journal article, she pointed to “anticompetitive aspects of Amazon’s struggle and conduct.”