Lina Khan on Amazon

Lina Khan, as Chair of the Federal Trade Commission, maintains a position rooted in her academic work arguing that traditional antitrust enforcement, which focuses narrowly on consumer welfare like price increases, is outdated for the digital age. She contends that Amazon's structure, including vertical integration and the use of marketplace data to compete against third-party sellers, allows it to exert monopoly power that harms competition and innovation, even if prices are kept low in the short term. This perspective suggests that the harms from platforms like Amazon extend beyond immediate consumer costs to include stifling market entry and variety.

Her role at the FTC has translated these theoretical concerns into practice, notably through the filing of a major antitrust lawsuit against Amazon, accusing the company of functioning as a monopoly and detailing anticompetitive practices. While her tenure has seen significant legal challenges, including setbacks in court, she continues to pursue a more vigorous regulatory posture against large tech platforms. This approach is a direct application of her critique that modern antitrust must be proactive to counteract the structural power large digital platforms accumulate.