Trump Appoints Andrew Ferguson as FTC Chair

By Jody Godoy

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has appointed Federal Trade Commissioner Andrew Ferguson to lead the consumer protection and antitrust agency, as announced on social media on Tuesday.

Ferguson, one of the two Senate-confirmed Republican FTC commissioners appointed by President Joe Biden, is expected to be "the most America First, and pro-innovation FTC Chair in our Country’s History," according to Trump.

Trump praised Ferguson, stating, "Andrew has a proven record of standing up to Big Tech censorship, and protecting Freedom of Speech in our Great Country." Ferguson has indicated that the agency should address what he sees as censorship of conservative viewpoints online. He believes that if social media platforms suppress such views or if advertisers coordinate efforts to remove business from platforms like Elon Musk's X, they should face violations of U.S. antitrust law.

Ferguson stated, "We must vigorously enforce the antitrust laws against any platforms found to be unlawfully limiting Americans' ability to exchange ideas freely and openly." The agency became a political flashpoint under previous FTC Chair Lina Khan, who promoted stringent antitrust enforcement against corporate power. While her efforts garnered support among some Republicans, including incoming Vice President JD Vance, they faced criticism from others who viewed the approach as too aggressive.

The new chair will be tasked with ongoing cases against major tech firms, including a lawsuit against the three largest pharmacy benefit managers, and several other lawsuits from companies alleging the FTC has exceeded its authority.

It remains uncertain if Ferguson will proceed with ongoing investigations, such as the practices at Microsoft that prevent customer transitions to alternative cloud services and potential privacy issues concerning OpenAI.

Additionally, leadership changes may influence two significant FTC cases against Amazon.com. One case targets practices that allegedly bind sellers to its platform, which aids Amazon in unlawfully dominating online marketplaces. The other case involves claims that Amazon misled Prime subscribers into retaining their memberships.

The new chair will also oversee a case initiated against Meta Platforms, previously known as Facebook, in 2020 during Trump’s first term, in which the agency seeks to reverse Meta's acquisition of Instagram and WhatsApp. A judge has raised doubts about whether the agency can succeed in this case, set for trial in April.