Industry Groups Want FTC to Alter Recusal Rules After Khan Criticism

FTC commissioners and the chair should publicly share written documentation on their reasoning for when they decline to follow agency official recommendations on recusals, industry groups told the agency in comments posted Friday (see 2309250029). The U.S. Chamber of Commerce filed an FTC petition in September raising concerns about Chair Lina Khan’s decision not to recuse herself from proceedings on Meta’s buy of Within Unlimited, despite an FTC ethics official’s recommendation that she do so (see 2309250029). The petition seeks new rules requiring commissioners to request and receive written legal guidance from agency ethics officials and share in writing any decisions not to follow their guidance. CTA and the Software & Information Industry Association backed the petition in filings. CTA commented: “This approach will benefit all stakeholders -- interested parties, the public, and the FTC itself -- by providing transparency, predictability, and accountability in recusal procedures, which have important stakes for the parties involved.” The current rules are “murky,” and at a “minimum the agency should have recusal standards that offer some criteria to guide Commissioners and avoid conflicts of interest,” said SIIA.