Advocacy News, Sept. 26, 2024
The state of Michigan has long been associated with technological advancements. From the very first assembly line in Henry Ford’s factories, to medical device manufacturing, and more recently our drive to lead the semiconductor and cybersecurity industries. We are a hotbed of manufacturing, software and automotive development and we are constantly pushing companies to adopt next-generation technology. This is why we at the Michigan Chamber of Commerce are extremely concerned about the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) vendetta against the tech industry.
The President’s hand-picked chair of the FTC, Lina Kahn, has long had the technology industry in her sights. After a failed attempt in Congress to break up large technology companies, FTC is taking another shot. They claim these efforts are to level the playing field and safeguard the interests of consumers. But are they? The Chairwoman has long been an opponent of big companies, even authoring a thesis at Harvard on anti-trust and it has been a calling card ever since. This all comes at a time when voters’ top concern across demographics is most often the cost of living and the state of the economy. Inflation and the costs of doing business in this country have remained real concerns in recent years – and anti-trust regulation would only make it worse.
This FTC view of anti-trust law abandons its longstanding core tenet: the consumer welfare standard. Instead, it’s a ‘big is bad’ approach – reminiscent of a bygone era when monopolies dominated industries with an iron fist and built their factories on the bodies of American workers. In this day and age, workers know their rights, and a majority (59% according to recent polls) have major doubts about the administration’s efforts to protect them in the wake of antitrust regulation.
Kahn also seems to have taken some major cues from our European counterparts when it comes to application of anti-trust laws, favoring penalties and litigation for offences that are vaguely defined and often left up to subjective discretion. The U.S shouldn’t be taking cues from countries with different economies and attitudes toward regulation.
If FTC government bureaucrats succeed in dismantling successful technology companies, the everyday conveniences consumers heavily use will go by the wayside. Further many small businesses, and their customers, will lose the benefits from collaborative relationships formed by partnering with larger companies.
The federal government shouldn’t engage in what is essentially economic planning. While some of companies do indeed have issues that merit attention, granting more power and discretion to unelected government workers certainly is not the answer. If there are companies harming consumers and creating a business environment that disadvantages others, Congress and the courts should tackle the issue at hand and not allow a radical approach at the FTC to fundamentally turn antitrust laws on their head.
We must oppose the extremism of the FTC and stand up for Michigan and American businesses and ingenuity to ensure consumers are the ultimate winners.