Lina Khan’s Obsessive, Out-the-Door Tech Bashing Op-Ed

By Paul Steidler: Yesterday, the New York Times published an illogical Op-Ed from former Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Lina Khan, blaming U.S. technology leaders for creating the conditions that led a Chinese start-up to invent the DeepSeek app.

In a recycling of many past, unproven arguments over the years, Khan contradicts herself by saying Big Tech is harming AI competition while simultaneously being overrun by a small, low-budget Chinese company. Deliberately omitted from the article is any mention of the vast array of U.S. venture capital firms investing in AI, which continue to reach dizzying heights and lead the world.

Khan’s track record in understanding and predicting AI trends is poor. In a March 2024 speech to the Carnegie Endowment, she blatantly downplayed U.S. competition with China on AI.

For over three years, she collaborated extensively with European Commission regulators. The continent is a tech wasteland with no AI industry to speak of. The threatening message to American innovators: Regulation is more important than innovation.

In 2024, Khan commissioned FTC staff to produce a report on Big Tech companies interfering in AI development but found nothing to substantiate her false allegations.

Lina Khan resigned from the FTC on January 31. It was about time.

Editor’s Note: A similar article appears on the author’s LinkedIn page.