Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D., N.Y.) took a brief respite from cosplaying as a “regular old Democrat” and returned to the more familiar role of toxic firebrand earlier this week. You see, Lina Khan, the scandal-mired Chair of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), had just fielded criticism from capitalist, and exceptionally effective Kamala Harris surrogate, Mark Cuban.
Cuban argued that Khan should be replaced as FTC chair in a theoretical Harris administration, in part due to her obsession over breaking up American companies to the great benefit of European and Chinese competitors. These comments inspired AOC to threaten her “fellow” Democrats with a “brawl.” Vermont Socialist, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.), also joined in Khan’s defense. The dual monarchy of the Progressive Left has spoken: shut up and get in line.
It’s a disturbing sentiment, but if Khan is so good at her job, one wonders why her allies routinely feel the need to pounce when she isn’t handled with kid gloves. Perhaps it is that they see in her a kindred spirit. After all, what Khan, AOC, and Sanders all have in common is a remarkable ineffectiveness at their actual jobs — serving more as political celebrities than effective policymakers. The governing equivalent of Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian in 2004 — exceptionally famous for…something.
The more likely reason for the defensiveness, however, is that the progressive Left isn’t done with Khan yet. She has already wreaked havoc on America’s free market by freezing mergers that give small businesses a lifeline, stalling vital new cancer-fighting technologies from reaching patients, and costing Americans jobs. While her term has expired, she will not need to leave the FTC unless she is renominated or the next president nominates someone else. If she can retain her position, her allies in Congress have begun envisioning new ways to expand the FTC’s authority.
The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), introduced by progressive Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D., Conn.), would hand Khan sweeping authority over how online platforms like YouTube, X, and Instagram disseminate information. Sen. Blumenthal has a storied history of attacking free speech online. While the marketing has been focused on childrens’ safety, nothing in the bill or Khan’s record, would meaningfully restrict the government’s new censorship authority. It would create a Kids Online Safety Council, where Khan will be able to push the leaders of online platforms to strip particular content from their sites — or face costly investigation and litigation. Senate Republicans were largely fooled into supporting the bill based simply on the name, but Sens. Rand Paul (R., Ky.) and Mike Lee (R., Utah) stood as the lone free speech stalwarts.
House Republicans, on the other hand, have taken the issue of government censorship much more seriously. Chairmen James Comer (R., Ky.) and Jim Jordan (R., Ohio) successfully passed legislation in the House that would prevent federal employees from pressuring social media companies from moderating content. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) recently pushed back hard on pro-censorship comments made by former Democratic Party presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
Proponents of KOSA want you to ignore that Khan will be the one charged with implementing the legislation. Her most ardent political allies are doing everything in their power to ensure that she remains at the helm. And over the past two weeks, Khan has been out on the campaign trail with progressives. Does that sound like the actions of a politically-neutral civil servant? Or does it sound like the posture of an idealogue that will jump at the chance to reshape online discourse — in the same way she has tried to reshape our economy?
Lina Khan isn’t going anywhere in the lame duck, and she may not be going anywhere in the long term if the Left gets its way, either. Even if she does get fired, we may still be stuck with an FTC that, thanks to Khan’s progressive philosophy, is dedicated to undermining the free market and free flow of ideas. There is no worse time to empower the FTC to regulate online speech. Opposing this power grab may win conservatives a brawl with AOC, but it is a brawl worth fighting for the American people.
Zach Lilly is Deputy Director of State and Federal Affairs at NetChoice, a trade association committed to keeping the internet safe for free enterprise and free expression. He has also served in the Commerce Department and as a policy adviser to former Rep. Dave Reichert (R., Wash.).