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Showing archive for:  “Clayton Act”

Antitrust at the Agencies Roundup: Back to the Past Edition

Labor Day approaches with most of us looking forward to a long weekend off, but there’s much in competition world looming on the horizon. As I am looking forward to a couple of days off, I’ll offer more of an annotated bibliography than analysis. But also a bit of discussion, because I am what I ... Antitrust at the Agencies Roundup: Back to the Past Edition

Artificial Intelligence Meets Organic Folly

In a May 3 op-ed in The New York Times, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Lina Khan declares that “We Must Regulate A.I. Here’s How.” I’m concerned after reading it that I missed both the regulatory issue and the “here’s how” part, although she does tell us that “enforcers and regulators must be vigilant.” Indeed, ... Artificial Intelligence Meets Organic Folly

7 Top Takeaways from the 2nd Annual Mercatus Antitrust Forum

At the Jan. 26 Policy in Transition forum—the Mercatus Center at George Mason University’s second annual antitrust forum—various former and current antitrust practitioners, scholars, judges, and agency officials held forth on the near-term prospects for the neo-Brandeisian experiment undertaken in recent years by both the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ). ... 7 Top Takeaways from the 2nd Annual Mercatus Antitrust Forum

The New FTC Section 5 Policy Statement: Full of Sound and Fury, Signifying Nothing?

The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Nov. 10 Policy Statement Regarding the Scope of Unfair Methods of Competition Under Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act—adopted by a 3-1 vote, with Commissioner Christine Wilson issuing a dissenting statement—holds out the prospect of dramatic new enforcement initiatives going far beyond anything the FTC has done in ... The New FTC Section 5 Policy Statement: Full of Sound and Fury, Signifying Nothing?

FTC Section 5 Statement: Less Guidance Than Meets the Eye

On Nov. 10, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a new statement explaining how it will exercise its standalone FTC Act Section 5 authority. Despite the length of the statement and the accompanying commentaries from most of the commissioners, there is less guidance than one might expect from so many words. One thing is clear, ... FTC Section 5 Statement: Less Guidance Than Meets the Eye

Lina Khan’s Christmas Wish Is To Have Margrethe Vestager’s Powers

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Lina Khan has just sent her holiday wishlist to Santa Claus. It comes in the form of a policy statement on unfair methods of competition (UMC) that the FTC approved last week by a 3-1 vote. If there’s anything to be gleaned from the document, it’s that Khan and the ... Lina Khan’s Christmas Wish Is To Have Margrethe Vestager’s Powers

The End of Reason at the FTC

In a 3-2 July 2021 vote, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) rescinded the nuanced statement it had issued in 2015 concerning the scope of unfair methods of competition under Section 5 of the FTC Act. At the same time, the FTC rejected the applicability of the balancing test set forth in the rule of reason ... The End of Reason at the FTC

FTC Rejects Economics for ‘Fairness’

The current Federal Trade Commission (FTC) appears to have one overarching goal: find more ways to sue companies. The three Democratic commissioners (with the one Republican dissenting) issued a new policy statement earlier today that brings long-abandoned powers back into the FTC’s toolkit. Under Chair Lina Khan’s leadership, the FTC wants to bring challenges against ... FTC Rejects Economics for ‘Fairness’

FTC Biweekly UMC Roundup – Mountain of Puffery Edition

Research still matters, so I recommend video from the Federal Trade Commission’s 15th Annual Microeconomics Conference, if you’ve not already seen it. It’s a valuable event, and it’s part of the FTC’s still important statutory-research mission. It also reminds me that the FTC’s excellent, if somewhat diminished, Bureau of Economics still has no director; Marta ... FTC Biweekly UMC Roundup – Mountain of Puffery Edition

FTC Biweekly UMC Roundup – 88 mph Edition

We’re back for another biweekly roundup – and what a biweekly it’s been! The JCPA rode, died, and rides again. Yet AICOA is AWOL. FTC Chair Lina Khan went to Congress and back to (Fordham) law school, making waves wherever she went. DOJ added to the agencies’ roster of recently lost cases. And the FTC ... FTC Biweekly UMC Roundup – 88 mph Edition

FTC UMC Roundup – A Quantum of Wonder Edition

Early August is an unpredictable time in the policy world. With Congress about to go on recess, one never knows if there will be a mad rush to get something done, or what that something may be. And it is, for many, a month of vacations and light schedules. Short staffing may delay work or ... FTC UMC Roundup – A Quantum of Wonder Edition

The Road to Antitrust’s Least Glorious Hour

Things are heating up in the antitrust world. There is considerable pressure to pass the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (AICOA) before the congressional recess in August—a short legislative window before members of Congress shift their focus almost entirely to campaigning for the mid-term elections. While it would not be impossible to advance the ... The Road to Antitrust’s Least Glorious Hour