During Lina Khan's tenure as FTC Chair (2021-2025), the FTC enacted significant consumer protection rules: a ban on hidden junk fees saving consumers an estimated $11 billion, a click-to-cancel rule for subscriptions, a ban on non-compete clauses affecting 30 million workers, a $245M Epic Games settlement over children's privacy, and secured $1.5 billion in direct consumer refunds. The Amazon Prime dark patterns case resulted in a $2.5 billion settlement.
In April 2024, the FTC issued a landmark regulation banning enforcement of non-compete agreements. In August 2024, a federal court struck down the regulation, ruling it was an overreach of statutory authority and that the regulation was 'arbitrary and capricious.' The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Business Roundtable sued, arguing 'the FTC exceeded its administrative authority' and that such economic significance should be decided by Congress, not an agency.
In Khan's first year as FTC Chair, the agency suffered a dramatic drop in workplace morale. In 2020, 87% of surveyed FTC employees agreed senior officials maintain high standards of honesty and integrity. By 2024, that share stood at just 49%. The agency experienced record attrition of FTC lawyers, with reports of 'reduced morale and high attrition' following failed lawsuits. Internal emails showed career staff expressing concern that Khan 'did not want the FTC to be successful.'
In September 2023, the FTC under Khan filed a sweeping antitrust lawsuit against Amazon, alleging the company illegally maintained monopoly power by punishing sellers who offered lower prices elsewhere, degrading search results to favor its own products, and forcing sellers to use its fulfillment and advertising services. The case, joined by 17 state attorneys general, was the most significant federal antitrust challenge to Amazon.
Over 2.5 years, the FTC under Khan's leadership lost every single merger challenge it brought through litigation without a single win. Courts rejected FTC attempts to block Microsoft's $69B acquisition of Activision Blizzard (July 2023, judge called case 'bald assertion') and Meta's acquisition of Within (February 2023). The FTC also lost challenges to Illumina-Grail merger. Courts found the FTC was 'weak on the facts,' could not demonstrate consumer harms, and relied on 'novel antitrust theories that courts did not recognize.'
In February 2023, Christine Wilson, the sole remaining Republican FTC Commissioner, announced her resignation citing Khan's 'willful disregard for the rule of law and due process.' In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, Wilson criticized Khan's 'disregard of congressionally imposed limits on agency jurisdiction, her defiance of legal precedent, and her abuse of power to achieve desired outcomes.' Wilson specifically criticized Khan's decision not to recuse herself from the Meta/Within case despite having publicly argued before joining the FTC that Meta should be prevented from acquiring any other firms.
At a 2022 conference, Khan stated that if agencies 'think that current law might make it difficult to reach, there's a huge benefit to still trying,' adding that courtroom losses would signal to Congress that lawmakers need to update antitrust law. Internal emails showed career FTC staff concern that 'Chair Khan did not want the FTC to be successful and purposefully put staff in a position to complete poor work product.' One manager wrote that Khan wants to appear 'aggressive' but is acting 'with little regard for the consequences of losing in a way that negatively affects the enforcement agenda.'
As FTC Chair (2021-2025), Lina Khan pursued landmark antitrust cases against Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft. She filed a monopoly lawsuit against Amazon alleging anticompetitive practices harming sellers and consumers, sued to block Microsoft's $69B Activision acquisition (ultimately lost), and pursued Meta's acquisition of Within (VR fitness). She also enacted a ban on noncompete clauses and strengthened merger guidelines.