Welcome to the Tech meme right home for Wednesday, November 13th, 2024. I'm Brian McCullough. Today, the guessing game on who the new tech regulators will be for the new administration. What is Amazon Hall? Why has blue skies suddenly seen a flurry of activity? More on Apple's smart home ambitions, and more on why AI seems to be

hitting a wall lately. Here's what you miss today in the world of tech.

Sources tell the F.T. that Gail Slater, a top aide to J.D. Vance and Mark Meeter, a former enforcer at the DOJ's

antitrust unit and the FTC, are the frontrunners to lead the FTC. These are the new regulators, perhaps,

quote. Some on Wall Street have expressed worries that Slater and Meeter may be partial to the

tough enforcement stance spearheaded by progressive officials

appointed by U.S. President Joe Biden, FTC Chair Lena Khan and Jonathan Cantor, head of the DOJ's antitrust division,

which has been embraced by a new generation of Maga Populous with Vance at its vanguard.

Either Slater or Meeter are unlikely to disappoint dealmakers hoping for a radical

change from the Biden administration, which has cracked down on anti-competitive conduct across the

economy and taken on big tech giants such as Google, Apple, and Amazon in a bid to reverse what

it says have been years of lax enforcement. Vance, who has pledged to prioritize the working man over Wall Street, could seek to

preserve parts of Khan's legacy, despite criticism from dealmakers who have labeled her anti-business,

said people following the selection process. The vice president elect has praised Khan for,

quote, doing a pretty good job and said Google should be broken up. For the DOJ, Trump's transition team might opt for a more

traditional antitrust approach that predated Khan and canter, these people said, in an effort to

balance opposing wings of the Republican Party over dealmaking. The leading contenders to head

the DOJ's antitrust division are Alex Okuliar, William Renner, and Barry Nigro, three

antitrust lawyers who previously worked with

McCann Del Haram when he headed the unit during Trump's first administration.

Under Del Rahim, the DOJ brought high-profile cases against Google, AT&T, and T-Mobile,

and was seen as operating within the more establishment antitrust view that company's growth

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