“Lina Khan becoming the chair creates an air of prejudice and bias in the decisions made when it comes to technology businesses,” Carl Szabo, vice president and general counsel of NetChoice, an industry group whose funders include Google, Facebook, and Amazon, told Recode.
Szabo said he believes that, because of her academic work, Khan should recuse herself from any cases involving technology. He noted that back in 1966, a pharmaceutical company called American Cyanamid successfully sued the FTC, forcing the then-chair of the committee to recuse himself from a case because of his perceived bias against the company. Khan has previously dismissed the idea that she should issue a blanket recuse from all tech cases, and said she would consult with the ethics board of the FTC if questions arise about recusal on a particular case. The FTC declined to comment on criticisms of Khan’s past work.