For Immediate Release: June 15, 2021
Contact: media@colorofchange.org
Color Of Change Applauds Senate Confirmation of Lina Khan as FTC Commissioner
In response to the U.S. Senate’s confirmation today of Lina Khan as Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Color Of Change released the following statement from President Rashad Robinson:
“The Senate confirmation of Lina Khan as FTC Commissioner signals a long-awaited commitment to antitrust reform from the federal government. Color Of Change advocated for Khan’s appointment to the FTC because she has demonstrated a strong understanding of, and willingness to, enforce competition policies that will help protect Black communities against ongoing abuses of power stemming from Big Tech and other concentrated markets.
Commissioner Khan recognizes that antitrust enforcement is, at its core, a matter of racial justice. Tech behemoths such as Google, Facebook, Twitter and Amazon continue to enable harms against Black people on multiple fronts, despite years of pressure from Color Of Change and other civil rights groups to address the growing dangers of their platforms and products. Not only are social media giants like Facebook still knowingly allowing white nationalist extremists and hate groups to organize, recruit and spew hate and misinformation on their platforms, but they’re also refusing to take any sort of responsibility for undermining our democracy and putting Black lives at risk. Meanwhile, Google remains resistant to Color Of Change’s demand to conduct an independent racial equity audit — even as the company continues to come under fire for its racist treatment of Black employees and its ongoing failure to tackle algorithmic bias.
It’s clear these tech corporations are unable to adequately self-regulate, because they continue to operate on broken business models that prioritize growth and profit above Black lives and the integrity of our democracy. Government intervention is necessary to check their outsize power and end this era of corporate greed and monopolization. The FTC has already signaled a heightened commitment to enforcing its rules prohibiting unfair or deceptive practices, including racially biased algorithms – but there is much more work ahead.
We look forward to working with Khan to protect Black communities from the dangers posed by ever-expanding conglomerates and to ensure a fair marketplace for Black consumers, workers and small business owners. Alongside our allies and with the support of our millions of members, we will also continue to call on the Biden-Harris Administration and Congress to equip the FTC with the necessary funding, enforcement tools, and resources to implement effective antitrust regulation and enforcement.”
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About Color Of Change:
Color Of Change is the nation’s largest online racial justice organization. We help people respond effectively to injustice in the world around us. As a national online force driven by over 7 million members, we move decision-makers in corporations and government to create a more human and less hostile world for Black people in America. Visit www.colorofchange.org.