On April 23rd, 2024, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Commissioner Lina Khan announced a nationwide ban on Non-Compete Clauses. A non-compete is the part of an employee’s contract that inhibits them from pursuing work in competition with their previous employer for a specified amount of time following employment. Khan, who graduated MHS in 2006 is now 35 years old. The FTC’s ban ultimately gives workers the freedom to leave their job with equal opportunity elsewhere, or in Khan’s words, ending the practices of noncompetition, which “keep wages low, suppress new ideas, and rob the American economy of dynamism.” Lina Khan is the daughter of Pakistani immigrants. Originally born in London, England, she moved to Mamaroneck when she was 11 years old. Even during her time at MHS, Khan was advocating for consumers against unjust policy. In 2004 she wrote for the Globe as a sophomore about the local Starbucks’ unfair policy against MHS students. At the time Starbucks had banned students from sitting, studying, or socializing at indoor tables during, before or after school. Khan’s article garnered the attention of the New York Times, and she eventually had an article written off of hers in the same year titled “A Tempest In A Coffee Shop.”
After MHS Khan attended Williams College, earning her undergraduate degree in political science and continuing her passion for writing and journalism by becoming the editor of the Williams college newspaper, the Williams Record. She had many opportunities awaiting her after graduating, including a job at the Wall Street Journal and a spot at Yale Law school. She decided to study at Yale and wrote a paper that became incredibly well known within the tech and political world titled “Amazon’s Antitrust Paradox.” It received widespread acclaim (as well as criticism) and gave her a larger platform to continue her work.
Khan was selected by President Biden to lead the FTC in June of 2021. As chair she plays a significant role in protecting the public from corporate abuse.
Under Khan, the FTC has achieved numerous objectives. Most notably, it took action to crack down on the illegal listing of patents, challenging more than 100 patents keeping life-saving medicines like asthma inhalers and epinephrine expensive for those who needed them most. The FTC also fined Epic Games, the company behind the widely-successful teen- age video game ‘Fortnite,’’ $520 million for violations of children’s privacy laws and tricking users to make unintended purchases. Khan’s tenure expires in September of this year, but her work against large companies has received approval from both sides of the aisle.
Khan’s continued passion for working against big corporations that threaten the rights of everyday consumers is clear. From Starbucks seating to non compete clauses, Khan continues to build an impressive legacy during her career, one that the Globe, and Mamaroneck High School over- all, feels proud to be a part of.
