Biden charges administration with top Big Tech critics

Almost two months into his presidency, it is finally becoming clear how Joe Biden plans to approach the tech industry. And that sounds very different from the approach under the Obama administration.

The selection of two major critics of Big Tech companies, Lina Khan and Tim Wu, for key roles in the administration seems to indicate that Biden is seriously considering taking a critical look at giants like Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google. The latter two of these companies are already facing federal antitrust lawsuits filed under the previous administration.

Biden’s selection of Khan as a candidate for the Federal Trade Commission leaves little doubt that the administration hopes to see robust enforcement of antitrust laws and other regulations in the tech space. Politico reported on Tuesday that the administration this week was in the final stages of selecting the candidate, citing sources. A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on the report.

Prior to taking up his current position teaching law students at Columbia University, Khan worked for the House Justice Subcommittee on Antitrust, helping to compile the report of nearly 450 pages accusing the four tech giants of maintaining monopoly power and suggesting a major overhaul of antitrust laws and their enforcement.

Khan, 32, rose to prominence in the field of antitrust scholarship after writing “Amazon’s Antitrust Paradox” as a law student at Yale University in 2017, in which she advocated for a broader understanding of the how US antitrust laws might be applied to a company like Amazon. While courts have often relied for years on the highly controversial “consumer welfare” standard to assess whether an antitrust violation has occurred (often related to the price of goods and services to consumers), Khan has argued that the standard was ill-equipped for potential damage from online platforms.

Khan wrote that predatory pricing might be solely for the benefit of the platforms, as they are often rewarded for continued growth instead of profit. From the outside, this might appear to benefit consumers by lowering prices, although it would undermine legitimate competitors who might be shut out of the market. She also argued that platforms can control the “critical infrastructure” that competitors depend on, allowing platforms to leverage information against their rivals.

In addition to Khan’s expected appointment, the administration announced last week that Columbia University law professor Tim Wu would join the National Economic Council to work on technology and competition policy. Wu helped popularize the idea that large tech companies might need to be dismantled to re-energize competition with his 2018 book, “The Curse of Bigness: Antitrust in the New Gilded Age.” He also coined the term “net neutrality,” which ultimately sparked a major debate over whether Internet service providers should have the ability to slow down or speed up Internet services.

Prior to the revelation of those two picks, tech critics had remained wary of how Biden would ultimately select his top tech managers. Progressive groups have warned the administration not to select staff or candidates with big tech ties, including former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who has reportedly been discussed for an administration role.

The fear also stemmed from the Obama administration’s reputation as a tech-friendly White House that also failed to bring major enforcement action against the tech giants. Even so, many expected Biden’s approach to likely differ, if only because public sentiment towards the tech industry has changed dramatically since 2016.

To be sure, Biden still has to occupy the top anti-trust role in the Justice Department and the empty fifth seat in the FTC, assuming his Consumer Financial Protection Bureau candidate, who is currently FTC commissioner, is confirmed. But the selection of Khan and Wu for key roles seems to send a strong signal to progressives and big tech companies that the administration will not back down from strict enforcement.

Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube.

WATCH: How US Antitrust Law Works and What It Means for Big Tech