Facebook asks recusal of FTC head in antitrust case decision
Facebook is asking that the new head of the Federal Trade Commission step away from decisions on whether to continue the agency’s antitrust case against the social network giant, asserting that past public criticism of the company’s market power makes it impossible for her to be impartial.
Facebook Inc. petitioned the agency Wednesday to remove Chair Lina Khan from taking part in decisions on the FTC’s antitrust lawsuit against the company. A federal judge recently dismissed the suit by the FTC and one from a coalition of states, saying they didn’t provide enough evidence to prove that Facebook is a monopoly in the social networking market. The judge, however, allowed the FTC to revise its complaint and try again.
Khan has been a persistent critic of Amazon, Google and Apple, as well as Facebook.
FTC officials declined comment on Facebook’s motion, which came two weeks after Amazon requested that Khan be removed from taking part in antitrust investigations of that company. The agency could be expected to respond formally at some point. Khan has said she would seek the opinion of FTC ethics monitors if issues arose of potential conflict of interest.
It’s not known how internal FTC rules on conflict of interest might be interpreted in this case. On the face of it, though, “the fact that (Khan) has a point of view and has expressed it forcefully is not a basis for recusal,” said Stephen Gillers, a law professor at New York University who is an expert on ethics. (AP)