As the youngest chair of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in history, Lina Khan has taken on numerous companies and preached about the dangers of corporate monopolies.

Their pursuit of large companies represents a policy shift after decades of the FTC letting most mergers and acquisitions pass and standing back. But under President Biden, the FTC and the Justice Department have launched a crackdown, suing numerous large companies, including TicketMaster, Nvidia, Meta, Microsoft, Apple and Amazon. Some fear that going after the tech giants could set off a domino effect and destabilize the economy.

“But we should also be concerned about the destabilizing effect that can occur when companies believe they are above the law. They can be reckless, take enormous risks that can bring down the economy, and then they get away with a slap on the wrist,” Khan said in a recent 60 Minutes interview with correspondent Lesley Stahl. “And that creates destabilization as well.”

The change in antitrust policy

The Federal Trade Commission was created to protect consumers and promote competition among businesses.

Since President Ronald Regan took office in the White House, antitrust authorities have taken little action on many mergers and acquisitions. This policy has been followed by every president since then, including former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. Then President Biden put an end to it.

“We have been in the experiment of letting giant corporations amass more and more power for 40 years now, and what do we get out of it? Less growth, weaker investment, fewer small businesses,” Biden said in 2021 – the same year he appointed Khan to the FTC.

It's a revolution, and Khan is its face. While still a law student, she wrote a paper for the Yale Law Journal titled “Amazon's Antitrust Paradox,” in which she argues that Amazon still has a monopoly despite its low prices.

Less than five years later, President Biden appointed Khan, then 32, to head the agency that oversees Amazon.

The fight against the five big technology companies

Last year, the Federal Trade Commission and 17 state attorneys general filed a Antitrust proceedings against Amazonand claims that the retail giant is illegally using its monopoly power to impose higher prices, which harms customers and weakens competition.

“Our investigation found that Amazon's illegal practices actually drove up prices for consumers because it illegally drove competitors out of the market, locking them out of the market in a way that consumers would be even better off if there were even more competition that Amazon had not driven out,” Khan told 60 Minutes.

Amazon denies doing anything illegal and says prices would rise if Khan wins.

Khan and the FTC have blocked a number of large Silicon Valley companies from acquiring, or at least attempting to do so, smaller companies.

“In the technology markets, we have seen over 800 acquisitions by the big five players over a couple of decades, and not a single one of them was blocked. And we know that some of them ultimately resulted in significant damage,” Khan said.

Khan said the FTC has identified a number of mergers that were neither blocked nor challenged by previous FTC administrations, even though the current FTC under her leadership – and operating under Biden's mandate – considers them illegal.

Countering corporate resistance

The courts don't always side with the FTC, and Khan has lost several big cases, including one against Microsoft and one against Meta.

Although Khan is feared and loathed in many boardrooms, and even viewed by some as a bigot and a bully, she says the FTC is doing its job by enforcing the law. She adds that of the thousands of deals proposed each year, the FTC and DOJ together investigate “maybe two or three percent.”

That may not sound like much, but startup founders complain that it scares investors so much that it stifles innovation. Others fear that Khan's pursuit of the tech giants will trigger a domino effect. Earlier this month, the stock market plunged after reports that Khan's counterpart at the Justice Department had subpoenaed the chipmaker. NVIDIA.

Khan also faces lawsuits from companies seeking to limit the FTC's authority, threatening a Supreme Court battle over the agency's fate.

“I think one challenge for the agencies is that they are limiting their power and authority by not really using the authority that Congress has given them,” Khan said.

Khan’s fans – liberals and conservatives

Even as Khan faces opposition, she has ardent admirers. She attends events around the country that she calls her “listening tours.” She is often surrounded by young people taking selfies, small business owners giving her business cards, progressive politicians and union members.

She is also surprisingly popular among some MAGA Republicans. Senator J.D. Vancethe Republican candidate for vice president, has expressed some admiration for Khan.

“To be clear, I don't agree with Lina Khan on everything, but I think she was very smart in trying to attack some of these big technology companies,” he said previously.

There is even a nickname for conservatives who support Khan: Khan conservatives.

Still, Khan is unlikely to keep her job if former President Donald Trump wins the election. It's also unclear whether Khan will keep her job if Vice President Kamala Harris wins. Some of Harris' biggest donors are people who want Khan out of the FTC.

“My focus is not on listening to what the CEOs are saying on TV,” Khan said. “In these jobs, it's important to really stay focused and tune out the noise.”