Back to the Future (of Competition Research and Advocacy)
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced April 14 that it has “launched a public inquiry into the impact of federal regulations on competition, with the goal of identifying and reducing anticompetitive regulatory barriers.” A request for public comment (RPC) on the inquiry has also been published in the Federal Register. Bravo. The inquiry will not ... Back to the Future (of Competition Research and Advocacy)
The FTC’s Zombie Antitrust Action Against Meta Continues to Lurch Forward
FTC v. Meta Platforms Inc. has gone to court, and trial is just underway in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alleges that Meta is currently, in 2025, engaged in monopolization in violation of Section 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act by dint of having acquired Instagram ... The FTC’s Zombie Antitrust Action Against Meta Continues to Lurch Forward
Termination Tuesday: A Quasi-Comprehensive, Quasi-Definitive Discussion of the FTC and Humphrey’s Executor
Author’s Note: Sometimes “quasi” means “sort of” or, as Merriam-Webster’s would have it, “having some resemblance usually by possession of certain attributes.” And sometimes, “some resemblance” means “not very much.” On March 18, President Donald Trump fired—or purported to fire—the two Democratic members of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC): Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Slaughter. Bedoya ... Termination Tuesday: A Quasi-Comprehensive, Quasi-Definitive Discussion of the FTC and Humphrey’s Executor
What Changes Might, and Should, a New FTC Majority Bring?
The question on everyone’s mind—that is, for those in antitrust law and economics, the question on everyone’s mind that’s about antitrust—is this: Where do we go from here? As it happens, the International Center for Law & Economics (ICLE) recently hosted a panel discussion on precisely that question. ICLE’s Geoff Manne moderated an excellent discussion ... What Changes Might, and Should, a New FTC Majority Bring?
Antitrust at the Agencies: Private Anticompetitive Censorship Edition
A Feb. 20 press release from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announces “Federal Trade Commission Launches Inquiry on Tech Censorship.” That is, “a public inquiry to better understand how technology platforms deny or degrade users’ access to services based on the content of their speech or affiliations, and how this conduct may have violated the ... Antitrust at the Agencies: Private Anticompetitive Censorship Edition
Out with the Old Rules and in with…Something?
Pleading (in) the Fifth (Circuit) Way back in late January, I wrote a piece called “Lina’s Lingering Legacy?” Lina Khan—at that time, Commissioner Khan, and the week before that, Chair Khan—had not yet left the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) building. But she had been replaced as chair by presidential fiat (as per Section 1 of ... Out with the Old Rules and in with…Something?
The FTC’s Baffling Chinese Affair
In a column last Friday, I noted a spate of matters being rushed through the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in the final weeks of Lina Khan’s tenure as chair. I was hardly the only one to notice (see the dissenting statements of Chairman Andrew Ferguson and Commissioner Melissa Holyoak on the FTC’s closed Jan. 16 ... The FTC’s Baffling Chinese Affair
Lina’s Lingering Legacy?
First and foremost, a belated Happy New Year, tout le monde. I have just flown home from France and boy are my arms fatigués. I was in Paris for meetings and, especially, for the International Center for Law & Economics’ (ICLE) conference (co-sponsored by European University Institute’s Department of Law, IE Law School Madrid, and ... Lina’s Lingering Legacy?
Antitrust at the Agencies Roundup: Rounding up the Roundups
It’s Not All About Price, Except When We Say So I don’t know if this is the end of an era, the end of an error, a bit of both, or something far more complicated than that, but let’s start with Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Commissioner Melissa Holyoak’s dissent in In the Matter of Southern ... Antitrust at the Agencies Roundup: Rounding up the Roundups
DOJ’s Not-so-Modest Proposal
The U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) late last month filed its much-anticipated initial proposed final judgment in the Google Search antitrust case. The proposal—to use a bit of baseball parlance—swung for the fences. Maybe they’ll get a hit, or maybe even a home run. Or not. Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani hit a whopping 54 home runs ... DOJ’s Not-so-Modest Proposal
The FTC World Keeps On Turning
You’re no doubt aware that we’ve had a presidential election since my last column. Agency news seems pallid, in comparison, but those of you who’ve come here looking for deep insights into what it all means are liable to be disappointed, not to mention zero in number. “The Meaning of Life” is a movie by ... The FTC World Keeps On Turning
Antitrust at the Agencies: PBM Madness at the FTC, Part 2
As I noted in my last post, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced Sept. 20 that it had filed a complaint: against the three largest prescription drug benefit managers (PBMs)—Caremark Rx, Express Scripts (ESI), and OptumRx—and their affiliated group purchasing organizations (GPOs) for engaging in anticompetitive and unfair rebating practices that have artificially inflated the ... Antitrust at the Agencies: PBM Madness at the FTC, Part 2
