Bedoya, focused and passionate, talks about putting consumers first
Federal Trade Commission member Alvaro Bedoya just reached his six-month work anniversary. The former Senate staffer and Georgetown University professor arrived at a time of incredible activity at the FTC. It issued an advanced notice of proposed...
Some hits and a miss in Section 5 policy statement
The diplomat Talleyrand, who represented post-Napoleonic France at the make-or-break Congress of Vienna, cautioned his staff to move only in measured steps: “Above all,” he said, “no zeal.” This would have been equally good advice for the Federal Trade Commission’s policy statement on Section 5...
Current Issue: 846
Patent assertion entities have the government’s full attention
In the past month, efforts to rein in abusive patent litigation have multiplied across the country, with new voices of support and new legislation coming from the states, the White House and inside...
Comcast, Time Warner flex lobbying muscle
If money is, as former California Treasurer Jesse Unruh said, “the mother’s milk of politics,’’ then Comcast and Time Warner Cable have done all they can to ensure that key political players don’t...
Senate hearing features debate over wireless competition
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) joked at a recent antitrust hearing that she knew that Ben Affleck was testifying elsewhere on Capitol Hill, but the big crowd that had gathered for her discussion had...
FTC gets cheers (and jeers) for Apple app settlement
There’s been a lot of sharp reaction to the FTC’s recent $32.5 million settlement with Apple Inc. to resolve complaints that the technology firm charged families for their children’s inadvertent...
Tracking consumers in retail stores raises privacy concerns
Before a recent FTC conference exploring privacy and other issues which arise when retailers track their customers’ movements, the Commission’s chief technologist showed how easy it is, from a...
Commissioner Ohlhausen: FTC should use all its tools
FTC Commissioner Maureen Ohlhausen has emerged as one of the more influential people at the agency, and her talks are being viewed as good predictors of where the agency may go next.