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Tim Wu, a leading critic of Big Tech, joins the Biden administration

Wu will serve as a special assistant for technology and competition policy at the National Economic Council.

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President Joe Biden on Friday appointed Tim Wu, a Columbia University law professor and leading critic of Big Tech, to the National Economic Council as a special assistant for technology and competition policy. The move could signal that the Biden administration is prepared to challenge the size and power of tech companies like Amazon, Google, Apple and Facebook. 

Wu, who coined the term "net neutrality," has been influential in shaping ideas around an open internet and has been critical of the growing power of tech platforms. In 2019, he joined Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes in lobbying regulators and federal officials for the breakup of the social media giant.

Wu previously worked on competition policy for the NEC under the Obama administration and also worked in antitrust enforcement at the Federal Trade Commission.

In a tweet on Friday, Wu said he's happy to be joining the White House

See also: The Biden presidency: What it means for tech

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