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Ferguson advocates tackling censorship of conservative

viewpoints online

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FTC under Khan was seen as aggressive, became a political

flashpoint

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New leadership could shift course in major FTC cases

against

Amazon ( AMZN ) and Meta

By Jody Godoy

NEW YORK, Dec 10 (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald

Trump tapped Federal Trade Commissioner Andrew Ferguson to lead

the consumer protection and antitrust agency, Trump said on

social media on Tuesday.

Ferguson, one of two Senate-confirmed Republican FTC

commissioners appointed by President Joe Biden, will be "the

most America First, and pro-innovation FTC Chair in our

Country's History," Trump said.

"Andrew has a proven record of standing up to Big Tech

censorship, and protecting Freedom of Speech in our Great

Country," Trump said on his social media platform.

Ferguson has said the agency should tackle perceived censorship

of conservative viewpoints online. If social media platforms

collaborate to suppress such views or advertisers coordinate

pulling business from platforms such as Elon Musk's X, they

should be charged with violating U.S. antitrust law, Ferguson

has said.

"We must vigorously enforce the antitrust laws against any

platforms found to be unlawfully limiting Americans' ability to

exchange ideas freely and openly," Ferguson said in a recent

statement. The agency became a political flashpoint under FTC

Chair Lina Khan, who promoted antitrust enforcement as a check

on corporate power. Her efforts won fans among some Republicans,

including incoming Vice President JD Vance, but drew criticism

as overly aggressive from some antitrust lawyers and business

groups.

Her successor will inherit a full slate of cases against Big

Tech companies, a lawsuit against the three largest pharmacy

benefit managers, and at least a half-dozen lawsuits by

companies arguing it has outstripped its authority.

It is unclear whether the incoming chair would continue with

unfinished probes, including into practices at Microsoft ( MSFT )

that competitors have complained keep customers from

switching to other cloud service providers, and potential

privacy concerns involving OpenAI.

New leadership could also shift course in two major FTC cases

against Amazon.com ( AMZN ). One takes aim at practices the

agency says keep sellers bound to its platform and help Amazon ( AMZN )

unlawfully dominate the landscape for online marketplaces, and

another over practices allegedly meant to trick Prime

subscribers out of cancelling service.

The new FTC chair would also oversee a case brought against

Meta Platforms ( META ), then known as Facebook, in 2020, during

Trump's first term.

The agency is seeking to unwind the tech company's acquisition

of Instagram and Whatsapp. But the judge overseeing the case has

cast doubt on whether the agency can prevail at trial in April.