Conservatives Weigh In On Sen. Hawley’s Newest Idea To Help Regulators Rein In Silicon Valley
“[T]his could simply be his attempt to try and develop more regulatory tools to attack technology platforms,” Jeffrey Westling, an analyst at R Street, told the DCNF. Putting the independent FTC under the yoke of the executive branch could “allow more partisan executive action against tech firms,” he noted.
Westling did note that the FTC and DOJ’s responsibilities often conflict. He cited one example where the DOJ filed a brief in opposition to the FTC’s enforcement actions against Qualcomm litigation in 2019. Still, folding the one into the other could create unforeseen abuses in the future, according to Westling.
“A future President could use this same structural change to target industries they dislike,” he said in an email.
