For a fleeting moment, it appeared that the populist sentiments of the Donald Trump campaign might align with the Lina Khan theory of regulating Big Tech at the Federal Trade Commission. However, this proved not to be the case. According to a report by Wired, over 300 blog posts critical of companies such as Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, and AI firms, primarily published during the Biden administration under Khan’s leadership, have been removed from the agency’s website.

These blog posts encompassed a range of topics, including details about the FTC’s privacy lawsuits against Big Tech firms, business guidance, and consumer protection information. Wired highlighted several examples, including a post that alleged that Amazon utilized data from Ring security cameras to train its algorithms and another post that highlighted Microsoft’s alleged collection of data from children using Xbox without parental consent.

A natural question arises regarding the decision to remove these blog posts: what is the motivation behind this action? Eliminating blog posts does not alter the agency’s policies nor invalidate the settlements it has secured with companies for alleged violations of FTC rules. The purpose of these blog posts is to present complex information in a digestible format for the general public. Deleting them only serves to create confusion, which may be the intended outcome.

It is worth noting that, due to the changing administration every four or eight years, government websites often host content that the incoming administration disagrees with. However, such content is typically not deleted outright. In fact, as reported by Wired, the Biden administration chose to leave blogs from the Trump era intact, citing concerns that deletion might violate the Federal Records Act and the Open Government Data Act.

This is not unfamiliar territory for Trump, who previously faced criticism for deleting tweets that were supposed to be archived. Ultimately, no significant consequences arose from that incident, which may have emboldened him to continue deleting content that no longer aligns with his views.

Prior to taking office, Vice President JD Vance expressed support for FTC chair Lina Khan and her approach to regulating Big Tech. On Tuesday, the same day the FTC’s log of blogs from Khan’s office was removed, Vance appeared at a conference hosted by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, signaling the Trump administration’s intent to maintain connections with the tech industry and its interests, alongside issues appealing to the party’s populist wing. The deletion of the FTC’s past criticisms of Big Tech can be seen as a potential olive branch to the industry.