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US President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday selected Federal Trade Commissioner Andrew Ferguson to lead the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), signaling a potential shift in the agency’s priorities toward addressing perceived censorship of conservative viewpoints online.
Ferguson has emphasized the need for strict antitrust enforcement against social media platforms and advertisers collaborating to suppress viewpoints. “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 recently.
The appointment follows a contentious period under outgoing FTC Chair Lina Khan, who prioritized aggressive antitrust enforcement, particularly against Big Tech. While some Republicans, including incoming Vice President JD Vance, supported Khan’s approach, critics argued it overstepped the agency’s authority.
Ferguson will inherit several ongoing cases, including antitrust lawsuits against Amazon, Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook), and Microsoft. Key cases include Amazon’s alleged efforts to dominate online marketplaces and Meta’s acquisition of Instagram and WhatsApp, which the FTC aims to unwind. However, a judge has expressed skepticism about the FTC’s chances of success in the Meta case, set for trial in April.
The FTC’s future direction under Ferguson remains uncertain, particularly with probes into Microsoft’s cloud services and OpenAI’s privacy practices still pending. Observers expect his tenure to bring significant shifts, especially in enforcing antitrust laws to address ideological censorship concerns.
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