Amazon said it wants the new head of the Federal Trade Commission to recuse herself from any antitrust probes of the e-commerce giant, arguing \u2026<\/b>
\nAmazon said it wants the new head of the Federal Trade Commission to recuse herself from any antitrust probes of the e-commerce giant, arguing that her past criticisms of the company show she can\u2019t treat it fairly. Lina Khan, a 32-year-old legal prodigy who was confirmed as head of the FTC just two weeks ago, is reportedly probing the company\u2019s $8.5 billion acquisition of MGM Studios. Prior to becoming FTC head, Khan wrote extensively on antitrust and Amazon in both legal and popular media. For example, in a 2014 Quartz op-ed, Khan wrote that \u201cAmazon has a monopoly in books\u201d and a \u201cdominant position in our economy.\u201d In a 2017 Yale Law Journal article, she pointed to \u201canticompetitive aspects of Amazon\u2019s struggle and conduct.\u201d In a 25-page motion that Amazon filed with the FTC on Wednesday, the company pointed to these articles and others as examples of Khan\u2019s alleged inability to treat the company fairly. \u201cGiven her long track record of detailed pronouncements about Amazon, and her repeated proclamations that Amazon has violated the antitrust laws, a reasonable observer would conclude that she no longer can consider the company\u2019s antitrust defenses with an open mind,\u201d the company headed by billionaire Jeff Bezos wrote in the motion. Federal ethics principles require commissioners to recuse themselves when they have \u201cexpressed views that go beyond general policy commentary\u201d and relate instead to specific companies, Amazon argued. A spokesperson for the FTC did not reply to a request for comment. Khan\u2019s reported probe into Amazon\u2019s MGM acquisition got a boost Wednesday when Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) sent the FTC chair a letter calling for \u201cmeticulous antitrust scrutiny\u201d of the transaction. The Amazon motion did not mention MGM specifically but instead asked for the chair to broadly recuse herself from all matters involving the company. In addition to the FTC\u2019s alleged scrutiny of the MGM deal, Amazon is taking heat from Congress. Last week, a bill that could force big tech companies to sell off many of their business lines was passed by the House Judiciary Committee. The FTC\u2019s attempts to rein in another big tech company, Facebook, suffered a major setback Monday when a federal judge dismissed an antitrust suit filed by the agency.<\/p>\n