Investing.com — President-elect Donald Trump has introduced his intention to raise present FTC Commissioner Andrew Ferguson to the position of Chairman, with the transition anticipated subsequent month.
Whereas Ferguson has signaled assist for deregulatory insurance policies, notably in rising areas like AI, his vocal skepticism towards main know-how corporations, together with Meta (NASDAQ:), Google (NASDAQ:), Microsoft (NASDAQ:), Amazon (NASDAQ:), and Apple (NASDAQ:), stands out.
In keeping with Ferguson, his priorities as Chair would come with reversing most of the insurance policies applied beneath present FTC Chair Lina Khan.
Notably, he has said he would “Cease Lina Khan’s struggle on mergers. Most mergers profit Individuals and promote the motion of capital that fuels innovation.”
On AI regulation, Ferguson has pledged to “finish the FTC’s try to turn into an AI regulator.”
Nonetheless, his deregulatory stance doesn’t prolong to Massive Tech. Ferguson has promised to “Focus antitrust enforcement in opposition to Massive Tech monopolies, particularly these corporations engaged in illegal censorship.”
He has additionally dedicated to pursuing each structural and behavioral treatments beneath antitrust legal guidelines to forestall dominant platforms from utilizing their market place to stifle competitors and innovation.
Commenting on this, TD Cowen analysts recommend this might sign a continuation of serious FTC actions.
For instance, Ferguson is predicted to keep up the company’s aggressive strategy to the antitrust lawsuit in opposition to Amazon, with little chance of settling earlier than the trial set for mid-2026.
“And if the FTC wins, his feedback recommend he would search a breakup,” analysts mentioned.
Equally, Ferguson is prone to maintain the continued investigation into Microsoft, which reportedly focuses on the corporate’s practices of doubtless tying Azure income to Office365.
Meta can be anticipated to stay within the FTC’s crosshairs, with the company persevering with its uphill authorized battle to pressure the divestiture of Instagram.
Ferguson can also pursue Meta and Google over allegations of censorship, referencing a 2020 govt order directing the FTC to look at “unfair or misleading acts or practices” associated to speech moderation by Part 230-covered entities.
“In different phrases, even 230-protected content material is perhaps discovered illegal by the FTC,” analysts famous.
One other space of focus may very well be generative AI mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Ferguson’s feedback increase questions on whether or not the most important tech companies will face heightened scrutiny of their makes an attempt to amass items of the generative AI ecosystem.
This might complicate efforts by tech giants to leverage M&A as a method to handle dangers and maximize alternatives within the quickly rising area.
