How States Can Take the Lead Challenging Corporate Monopolies
Days before the next presidential administration begins, Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan joined state legislators from across the country for a conversation on how state policymakers can challenge corporate monopolies and secure federal wins at the state level – fighting for fair markets and protecting workers, consumers, and local businesses in states across the country.
As Chair of the Federal Trade Commission, Lina Khan and her team adopted and championed a wide range of key protections for US workers, consumers, and local business. These have included a proposed rule to ban noncompete clauses, scrutinizing dominant middlemen across sectors, protecting people’s sensitive data from unchecked surveillance, and fighting for Americans’ right to access affordable, high-quality healthcare.
During the briefing, our partners at the American Economic Liberties Project (AELP), National Employment Law Project (NELP), and the NYU Wagner Labor Initiative shared some essential tools they’ve released for legislators and legislative staff to continue the anti-monopoly momentum:
- Quick Fixes to Lock in Wins for Workers: How States Can Preserve New Federal Protections
- How State Legislatures Can Protect Key Biden Consumer Protection and Small Business Rules
AELP, NELP, the NYU Wagner Labor Initiative, and SiX are here to support you year-round in building people-centered state governments.
Also in January, Lina Khan’s Federal Trade Commission voted 5-0 to seek public comment (including legislators & constituents) on mega investors' single-family home holdings. In another 5-0 vote, the FTC and the State of Colorado announced that they are taking action against Greystar, the nation’s largest multi-family rental property manager, for deceiving consumers.
We cannot extend our gratitude enough to Chair Khan and her team, for doing the hard and brave work of challenging the most powerful corporations and individuals in the world, and for investing so much time and passion into centering the needs and stories of those closest to the ground: legislators, workers, consumers, and local business.
State legislators across the country are ready to pick up the baton and build state governments that work for people. Together we can secure federal wins at the state level, and protect these essential safeguards for working families.
For more insights on how states can take on corporate monopolies and rebuild local economies going forward, check out the recording of SiX and the Institute for Local Self-Reliance’s (ISLR’s) briefing on the future of antitrust policies.
Watch: SIX and the Institute for Local Self-Reliance also hosted a briefing on States and the Future of Antitrust
SIX’s Economic Power Project:
This briefing is part of SIX’s Economic Power Project, our national economic justice initiative, organizing legislators committed to building economies that empower people and advance justice. With alarmingly rising corporate and billionaire influence in the federal government, the states are the frontlines for building people-centered economies that deliver tangible wins for working families. Learn more and join here.
About Chair Khan:
Lina M. Khan served as Chair of the Federal Trade Commission, which enforces the nation’s antitrust and consumer protection laws, from June 2021 to January 2025. Khan got her start in antitrust as a business reporter and researcher examining consolidation across markets, from airlines to chicken farming. Since joining the FTC, Khan focused on exercising the full suite of the FTC’s statutory authorities, regularly engaging with and hearing from the public, and ensuring the agency is updating its tools and skillsets to tackle new market realities and next-generation challenges.
Under her leadership, priority initiatives included a proposed rule to ban noncompete clauses, scrutinizing dominant middlemen across sectors, protecting people’s sensitive data from unchecked surveillance, and fighting for Americans’ right to access affordable, high-quality healthcare. Prior to joining the FTC, Khan served as counsel to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law. She was also an associate professor at Columbia Law School. Khan is a graduate of Williams College and Yale Law School.