FTC Chair Lina Khan Departs – What Will Happen to Her Big Tech Probes?

Lina Khanthe 35-year-old chairman of the US Federal Trade Commission, is the youngest person ever to hold the position. Known for her efforts to modernize antitrust enforcement, Khan has led several antitrust investigations into Big Tech companies such as Alphabet (GOOGL)amazon, Microsoft (MSFT) and Meta (META). She pioneered the idea that substantial investments such as Microsoft’s $14 billion partnership with OpenAIit can serve as a strategy for companies to gain market monopoly just like conventional acquisitions. But with just weeks left in her term under the Biden administration, the future of more Big Tech antitrust cases is now up in the air.

President-elect Donald Trump has announced that he will replace Khan Andrew Fergusonan FTC commissioner currently working under Khan. Although Ferguson did not agree with Khan on policy decisions, including banning non-compete clauses, he seems to share her general view of Big Tech dominance. “We will end Big Tech’s vendetta against competition and free speech,” Ferguson wrote in an X post yesterday (December 10) after Trump’s announcement.

An FTC investigation is not a formal lawsuit against a company. Even if an investigation leads to a trial, it can take months, if not years, before it goes to trial. And at any moment, the new FTC chair can pull the plug.

The FTC shares antitrust enforcement responsibilities with the Department of Justice. The two agencies often coordinate to avoid overlapping in their investigations. For example, in June, the FTC and DOJ split oversight of AI, with the FTC handling Microsoft and OpenAI and DOJ focuses on Nvidia.

With the clock ticking, Khan must convince the federal judges and the new president that the FTC’s investigations into America’s largest companies are both useful and beneficial to American consumers.

Here’s where those cases currently stand:

Microsoft is in the midst of an extensive fact-finding investigation

On November 27, the FTC launched an extensive investigation in Microsoft, asking for information about the company’s cloud computing business, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity offerings, and everything in between. The renewed interest in Microsoft probably came after the CrowdStrike crash on Microsoft Windows systems earlier this year, which highlighted the global reliance on just a few highly concentrated tech companies. Part of the FTC’s latest investigation focuses on Microsoft’s security software, Entra ID.

The FTC’s attempt to encourage Microsoft has so far been unsuccessful. Last year, the federal agency failed in an attempt to block Microsoft’s $69 billion purchase of the video game maker. Activision Blizzard (ATVI).

In April, the Observer reported potential conflicts of interest that some members of Microsoft’s senior management team may have with competitors. For example, CFO Disney Hugh Johnston sits on Microsoft’s board, despite Disney’s gaming business competing directly with Activision Blizzard. the president of Microsoft Brad Smith sits on the board of Netflix, whose AI and gaming business competes with Microsoft. Microsoft’s board also includes the CEO of Wells Fargo Charles Scharfwhich chose to partner with competitor Microsoft Google (GOOGL) to create an AI banking assistance called Fargo. Such corporate board overlap has been a sticking point for both the FTC and the DOJ.

Alphabet is facing close scrutiny of its human investment and possible breakup

In January, the FTC launched an investigation into Alphabet for information about its investments in AI startups. The agency specifically cited Google announcement an investment of about 2 billion dollars in anthropogenica leading AI startup founded by former OpenAI executives. “Our study will shed light on whether investments and partnerships pursued by dominant companies risk distorting innovation and undermining fair competition,” Khan said in a statement.

In August, the DOJ won a lawsuit targeting Google’s online search business. A federal judge ruled that, because Google almost has without competitors in online text-based search, the company was able to increase the price of Google Search ads.without any significant competitive constraint.”

Now, the DOJ is pushing Google to sell Chrome, the world’s most popular web browser. If approved (which analysts believe unlikely) it would be the first major breakup of a technology company since the breakup of AT&T in 1982.

Amazon is set for an antitrust lawsuit in 2026

In September 2023, the FTC and 17 state attorneys general sued Amazon for allegedly maintaining a monopoly in online retail. The FTC claims that Amazon dominates more than 60% of the online superstore market. Key issues included Amazon’s “Buy Box” feature, which prioritizes sellers who offer competitive prices and penalizes those with lower prices on rival platforms. The FTC also accused Amazon of pressuring sellers to use its fulfillment services for better market visibility.

A year later, Amazon won a partial dismissal of some of the FTC’s claims. But a federal judge allowed the FTC to continue pursuing other claims. Because the partial dismissal decision was sealed, it is not publicly known which claims were dropped and which will be prosecuted. The antitrust case will go to trial in October 2026.

Amazon is also being investigated for its multibillion-dollar investment in Anthropic as part of the same FTC investigation into Alphabet.

Meta is set for an antitrust lawsuit in four months

In December 2020, the FTC and 48 state attorneys general sued Meta for violating antitrust laws following a long investigation in its acquisition of Instagram and WhatsApp. The lawsuit was originally dismissed in June 2021 for lack of evidence. Khan, who took over as head of the FTC that same month, rebuilt the case and filed an amended complaint in court in August 2021. Last month, a federal judge ruled that the suit could go to trial, marking a victory for Khan. The trial is scheduled for April 2025.

The case will likely move to the next phase under a new FTC chair, especially since the original lawsuit was brought by Republican-appointed FTC Chairman Joseph Simons, insulating the case from partisanship.