FTC Pick Pledges to Monitor Tech Giants

Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, the last of President Donald Trump’s nominees for the Federal Trade Commission, said if selected she would keep a close eye on whether major tech companies are using anti-competitive or deceptive tactics amid growing concerns that they dominate their markets.

"Big isn’t necessarily bad on its own," Slaughter told a panel of lawmakers on the Senate Commerce Committee, which oversees the FTC. "But where you have extreme market concentration you have more opportunity for abuse of that market power," said Slaughter, who is chief counsel to Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY).

The five-member agency shares a mandate with the Justice Department’s antitrust division to enforce antitrust laws, while its consumer protection division acts against "unfair and deceptive" practices. Washington lawyer Joseph Simons has been nominated to lead the agency, replacing Acting Chairwoman Maureen Ohlhausen. The nominees for the other seats are Republicans Noah Phillips and Christine Wilson and Democrat Rohit Chopra. All the nominees are awaiting confirmation by the Senate.