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The Chamber of Commerce is preparing for a court battle with the Biden administration’s antitrust enforcers.
wants a room Federal Trade Commission submitting records showing how it was done. commission works and possible political interference in their work.
chamber officials, FTC It operates through secret procedures and secret ballots while preventing mergers and taking other antitrust measures.
The business lobby said on Wednesday it was ready to file a lawsuit in federal court. FTC It does not provide the information the Chamber seeks through the Freedom of Information Act.
“Sunshine is the best disinfectant, and Congress enacted the FOIA to ban agencies like the US. FTC from operating in the shadows,” the Chamber wrote in its appeal earlier this month. FTCHis refusal to abide by this vital transparency act so far is hurting the public and the rule of law. We trust that you will comply with the law and correct this mistake as soon as possible.”
Chamber’s flurry of FOIA claims, FTC This comes after the agency reintroduced its antitrust lawsuit against Facebook in August 2021.
Supporters of an antitrust overhaul to rein in companies like Facebook and Google said the threat of lawsuits was directly tied to the Chamber’s support of the tech industry.
The Liberal American Economic Freedoms Project said Oda made Big Tech’s offer.
“Let’s be clear about what this is: A front group controlled by Big Tech CEOs is trying to bully antitrust enforcers. It’s not going to work,” Sarah Miller, AELP executive director, said in a statement. “This is part of the Department’s smear campaign to undermine the population. FTCby including I commissionNew transparency efforts led by President Lina Khan.”
Ms. Miller said it’s the big tech CEOs who want to fight against transparency. FTC.
room said FTC made some of the sought-after information public after its initial requests, but did not keep other records, including the procedure manual. The group deals with relevant information. FTC‘s voting procedure is concerned specifically with counting “zombie votes” where a member’s vote on a topic remains active for a period of time after the member leaves the agency. It is unknown how long these zombie votes lasted. FTC.
This FTC declined to comment for this report.
The Chamber closed the year with dozens of FOIA filings against Mr. FTC.
According to the Center for Responsive Policy’s OpenSecrets.org database, Chamber members, employees and owners given More than $23,000 to Mr. Biden during the 2020 election cycle. The chamber itself did not donate to the president.
The fact that the Chamber is currently indulging in a legal fight is notable for the business lobby. Before Mr. Biden took office, the Chamber said The Washington Times said it hoped it would help deliver on the agenda of a closely divided government.
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