Federal Trade Commission chairwoman Lina Khan dismissed the recommendation of the company’s ethics official on a case involving Facebook’s mother or father firm Meta. 

The Biden-appointed chief’s choice to reject the company’s inner recommendation raises recent questions in regards to the candor of Ms. Khan’s testimony to Congress in April.

Ms. Khan’s conduct involving the FTC’s interactions with Big Tech has been closely scrutinized, prompting questions from Congress and serving to to drive away the final remaining Republican commissioner on the FTC. 

The FTC’s mission consists of defending individuals from companies’ unfair strategies of competitors, and it challenged Meta’s acquisition of the digital actuality platform Within Unlimited final 12 months. Meta then requested Ms. Khan recuse herself from the matter, and the FTC rejected that request. 

Ms. Khan’s earlier commentary about Facebook created the looks of a battle within the eyes of the FTC’s Designated Agency Ethics Official Lorielle L. Pankey, in response to Internal paperwork obtained by Bloomberg.

The ethics official really useful Ms. Khan’s recusal in an August 2022 memo to then-FTC commissioner Christine Wilson revealed on Friday. 

“From a federal ethics perspective, I have strong reservations with Chair Khan participating as an adjudicator in this proceeding where — fairly recently, before joining the commission — she repeatedly called for the FTC to block any future acquisition by Facebook,” Ms. Pankey wrote within the memo. “In my view, such statements would raise a question in the mind of a reasonable person about Chair Khan’s impartiality as an adjudicator in the commission’s Meta/Within merger review.”

Ms. Pankey wrote that if Ms. Khan did take part within the matter, it might not essentially be a federal ethics violation.

Ms. Khan didn't heed the ethics official’s recommendation to recuse herself. In an inner November 2022 memo revealed by the FTC, Ms. Khan stated her prior remarks on Facebook didn't meet a authorized customary for demonstrating she had made up her thoughts in regards to the case involving Meta. 

A federal decide rejected the FTC’s case in opposition to Meta’s acquisition earlier this 12 months, and the company dropped its inner evaluation amid mounting scrutiny, together with on Capitol Hill.

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Washington Republican, pressed Ms. Khan in April to elucidate whether or not she adopted recommendation from the FTC’s designated company ethics official. 

“Are there any instances where you’ve not followed DAEO’s advice, yes or no?” Ms. Rodgers requested at a House Energy and Commerce Committee listening to. “Could you list any?”

“No, I’ve, in instances where companies like Facebook or Amazon have petitioned for my recusal, I have consulted with the DAEO and have taken actions that are consistent with the legal statements that the DAEO has made,” Ms. Khan answered. 

The final remaining Republican commissioner on the FTC listed Ms. Khan’s dealing with of the Meta case as serving to to immediate her departure from the company. Ms. Wilson left the FTC earlier this 12 months over considerations about what she labeled Ms. Khan’s “lawlessness.”

The FTC didn't instantly reply to a request for touch upon Saturday.

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