FTC Chair praises Justice Thomas as ‘the most important judge of the last 100 years’ for Black History Month

US Associate Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas attends inauguration ceremonies in the Rotunda of the US Capitol on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. Donald Trump takes office for his second term as the 47th president of the United States.

Newly appointed Federal Trade Commission Chair Andrew Ferguson praised his former boss, the conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, as “the most important judge of the last 100 years,” in a memo to agency staff honoring Black History Month. The message, obtained by The Verge and confirmed by the FTC, sheds light on how Ferguson may align himself with Thomas — one of the court’s foremost critics of tech’s legal liability shield Section 230 and a skeptic of diversity measures — especially as the FTC chair is tasked with taking on consumer protection cases, which in the past have included considering the role of racial bias in technology.

In the February 7th email, Ferguson took the opportunity to share his thoughts on Thomas, whom he clerked for and calls a friend. Thomas overcame “a difficult upbringing” and later had his views on the law “pilloried by American elites,” according to Ferguson. Rather than “hold grudges against America” for his experience of poverty and segregation, Ferguson says, Thomas pulled himself up by his bootstraps and proved that “any American can overcome the hardships of the past and achieve greatness.” More recentl …

Read the full story at The Verge.