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Jake Denton worked on AI policy at Heritage

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Denton has advocated legislation on artificial

intelligence

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Trump administration seeks to balance tech accountability,

innovation

By Jody Godoy

Feb 10 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has

named a former tech policy researcher from the conservative

Heritage Foundation as its chief technology officer.

Jake Denton, who graduated from American University in 2021,

announced his appointment to the FTC in a post on X on Monday.

He replaces Stephanie Nguyen, who had been appointed in 2022

under former FTC Chair Lina Khan.

The FTC first hired a chief technologist during the Obama

administration to advise on emerging tech policy issues.

Denton comes to the FTC as the agency's new chairman, Andrew

Ferguson, begins to build his agenda. Ferguson previously

expressed concern about Big Tech companies dominating digital

markets and public forums, but said regulators should be wary of

impeding U.S. innovation.

Denton said in a Fox News interview in July 2023 that

Congress should pass artificial intelligence legislation. An

opinion piece that he co-wrote with the Heritage Foundation's

tech policy director and published by Fox News in October called

for greater U.S. involvement in international AI

standard-setting efforts.

"If America and freedom-loving nations don't write the rules

of the road for emerging technologies like AI, authoritarians

will do it for us," Denton and Kara Frederick, the Heritage tech

policy director, wrote.

The Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 -- largely seen as a

policy blueprint for the Trump administration -- laid out ways

antitrust enforcers can champion conservative causes while also

questioning whether the FTC should continue to exist.

Along with the Federal Communications Commission, the FTC is

the de facto U.S. technology regulator, tasked with enforcing

laws that protect online shoppers and children on the internet,

in addition to prohibitions on unfair, deceptive and

anticompetitive business practices.

Under Khan, the FTC started looking into partnerships in AI,

including between Microsoft ( MSFT ) and OpenAI, investigating

potentially anticompetitive conduct at Microsoft ( MSFT ) and probing

whether OpenAI violated consumer protection laws.

It is not clear whether Ferguson will continue those probes.

President Donald Trump said Ferguson would be "the most America

First, and pro-innovation" head of the FTC. Ferguson has

criticized Big Tech companies, particularly over content

moderation policies.

The agency is also gearing up to go to trial in April

against Meta Platforms ( META ) in a case brought during the

first Trump administration over its acquisitions of Instagram

and WhatsApp.

The FTC also sued Amazon.com ( AMZN ) during President Joe

Biden's term over policies it says were designed to suppress

competition and keep Prime subscribers from cancelling.

Both companies have denied the allegations.

Denton, prior to working at the Heritage Foundation, did

internships in Congress and had a fellowship at the Federalist

Society.