Monopoly isn’t a game (with Lina Khan)
Hey everyone, it’s Nilay. Decoder is on a short summer break right now, but we’ll be back starting June 23 with new episodes, and we’re very excited for what we have on the schedule.
In the meantime, we have an episode from the excellent podcast Stay Tuned with Preet, with host and former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara. Last month, Preet sat down with former FTC Chair Lina Khan for a pretty high-level discussion about antitrust, monopoly power, and the ongoing shift from both political parties in the United States toward more aggressive, bipartisan regulation of Big Tech. I think you’ll find it really interesting.
Links:
Stay Tuned with Preet | Apple Podcasts
Google loses ad tech monopoly case | Verge
Judge greenlights FTC’s antitrust suit against Amazon | Verge
Judge rules that Google ‘is a monopolist’ in US antitrust case | Verge
Illegally fired FTC commissioners on Meta, bribes, and fighting for privacy | Decoder
The case for breaking up Google has never been stronger | Decoder
DOJ antitrust chief is ‘overjoyed’ after Google monopoly verdict | Decoder
DOJ’s Kanter says the antitrust fight against Big Tech is just beginning | Decoder
Credits:
Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder
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Monopoly Isn't A Game (with Lina Khan) - Stay Tuned with Preet
Why should any of us care about monopolies? Lina Khan, the youngest-ever chair of the Federal Trade Commission, joins Preet to discuss the real-world impact of monopoly power, the surprising bipartisan support for antitrust enforcement, and her rapid rise to prominence after publishing a groundbreaking paper on Amazon's business practices during law school.
Plus, Preet answers questions about the qualifications to become Surgeon General, Kid Rock's restaurant, and Bruce Springsteen.
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Show notes and a transcript of the episode are available on our website.
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The Sheriff of Silicon Valley: Lina Khan’s FTC agenda for M&A, AI Acquisitions, and Non-Competes
Lina Khan’s FTC has been the most active in decades, notably challenging tech giants and adopting a more hands-on approach to regulating the digital age. On today’s episode of No Priors, Lina Khan joins Elad and Sarah to discuss her regulatory philosophy for tech markets and what the industry can expect for future M&A deals. She shares her approach to overseeing emerging technology sectors, including AI at the model layer, and her work to ban non-competes on a federal level. Khan also offers insights into the realities of leading a government agency, the scarcity of young leaders in power, and how she measures the FTC’s impact.
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Follow us on Twitter: @NoPriorsPod | @Saranormous | @EladGil | @LinaKhanFTC
Show Notes:
(0:00) Introduction
(0:56) Lina Khan’s background and path to the FTC
(2:35) Amazon’s Antitrust Paradox
(4:20) Frameworks for regulating M&A in young markets
(8:50) Khan’s perspective on AI acquisitions
(12:18) What founders can expect from Khan’s M&A environment
(14:55) Promoting competition at the large model layer
(17:01) Creating fair AI regulation
(18:40) FTC’s work to ban non-competes
(20:31) Why so few young people hold power in government today
(22:18) The realities of running a government agency
(24:20) Measuring the impact of FTC
Lina Khan Is Sending a Message to the Private Equity Industry
Since becoming chair of the Federal Trade Commission, Lina Khan has arguably taken a novel approach to antitrust, one that incorporates broader ideas of what might actually constitute anticompetitive behavior. She's challenged huge tech companies like Amazon and Microsoft, and more recently, filed a lawsuit against a private equity firm that's been buying up anesthesiology companies across Texas. The action is noteworthy because it targets a common PE strategy of "rolling-up" multiple businesses and then consolidating them to eke out market efficiencies. So it's no wonder that PE players have called the FTC lawsuit "terrifying," or that Khan has been named "Wall Street's No. 1 enemy." In this episode, we speak with Lina Khan herself about the case, and whether the principles underlying it could be extended outside of healthcare to other industries with PE involvement. We also talk about political pushback, the FTC's research and examination process, and even... chickens.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Personalized GPTs Are Here + F.T.C. Chair Lina Khan on A.I. Competition + Mayhem at Apefest
Warning: this episode contains some explicit language.
OpenAI has unveiled a new way to build custom chatbots. Kevin shows off a few that he’s built – including a custom Hard Fork bot, and a bot that gives investment advice inspired by his late grandpa.
Then, we talk to Lina Khan, the chair of the Federal Trade Commission, about the agency’s approach to regulating A.I., and whether the tactics she’s used to regulate big tech companies are working.
And finally, a Bored Ape Yacht Club event left some attendees' eyes burning, literally. That, and Sam Bankman-Fried’s recent fraud conviction has us asking, how much damage hath the crypto world wrought?
Today’s guest:
Lina Khan, chair of the Federal Trade Commission
Additional reading:
OpenAI’s new tools allow users to customize their own GPTs.
Lina Khan believes A.I. disruption demands regulators take a different approach than that of the Web 2.0 era.
More than 20 people reported burning eye pain after a Bored Ape Yacht Club party in Hong Kong.
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How Will Lina Khan and the FTC Tackle AI?
After a discussion about Elon and the new “Chief Twit,” Linda Yaccarino, we turn to a woman who has refused to meet with Musk: Lina Khan. The Chair of the Federal Trade Commission has tech giants from Meta to Amazon on the defensive. Now she’s got the agency’s eyes set on the next big gorilla: artificial intelligence.
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The Great Grift
Lina Khan, an associate professor of law at Columbia Law School, joins Scott to discuss the latest around Big Tech’s unchecked power and the broader effects of monopolistic behavior on the economy. She shares her thoughts on how break ups could benefit the markets, why traditional antitrust laws aren’t necessarily suited for the digital market, and how the dynamics of antitrust have changed over the past couple of years. Follow Lina on Twitter, @linamkhan. (14:43)
Scott begins by outlining how we could have used our $5 trillion stimulus effort to prop up Americans who needed the most help, rather than letting the rich get richer. Related Reading: The Great Grift.
This Week’s Office Hours: why Big Tech probably won’t make a move into the DTC genetic testing market and how rundles increase a company's valuation. Have a question for Scott? Email a voice recording to officehours@section4.com. (42:00)
Algebra of Happiness: demonstrate more grace. (54:26)
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Lina Khan on Amazon’s Antitrust Paradox
Should we break up Amazon and Facebook? Columbia Law School academic fellow Lina Khan, who wrote the impactful “Amazon’s Antitrust Paradox" for The Yale Law Journal, joins Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel to discuss whether Amazon and Facebook should be broken up and what it might look like if that were to happen.
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