The Future of Antitrust

Progressive trustbuster Lina Khan, shown here testifying in April on Capitol Hill, was seemingly poised for Senate confirmation as head of the Federal Trade Commission as Luckbox was going to press. Was another 50-50 party-line vote likely? Not at all. Members of both parties seem ready to break apart the big tech companies that are dominating the economy, toying with government, freezing out competition and making shopping an addiction. Khan, a 32-year-old Columbia Law School professor, won national recognition while still in school with a Yale Law Journal article entitled “Amazon’s Antitrust Paradox.” In the piece, she reframed monopoly law, arguing that it should go beyond simply assuring low prices for consumers.