The Federal Trade Commission and its chair Lina M. Khan have had a difficult start to 2023. On Feb. 1 a California federal district judge rejected the FTC’s attempt to block social media giant Meta’s acquisition of virtual reality fitness startup Within–a decision the FTC opted not to appeal. While few observers ultimately expected the FTC to prevail in court, the case was viewed as an early test of Khan’s attempt to “remake antitrust law” at the FTC, meaning its speedy and categorical rejection was bad news for Khan and her radical antitrust insurgency.
But the real bombshell came two weeks
