FTC maverick a mystery on Google case

A maverick member of the Federal Trade Commission, J. Thomas Rosch, may hold the keys to whether the agency’s handling of the antitrust case against Google is viewed as a Democratic attack on Big Business or a bipartisan effort to ensure Internet competition.

Commissioner Rosch is a Republican appointee who has sometimes been a renegade — pushing the agency to be more aggressive yet arguing for limits in its application of antitrust laws. FTC commissioners could decide any day now whether to file an antitrust case against Google over the firm’s search business and use of industry standard patents against rivals — or settle for certain behavioral conditions that reports indicate might not even touch on Google’s dominance in Internet search. And while it’s generally believed that the two Democratic appointees will support FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz, also a Democratic appointee, and that the newest GOP panelist will likely side against them, it’s unclear where Commissioner Rosch will fall.