FTCWatch
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November 26, 2024
Khan has options regarding the end of her FTC tenure
Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan isn’t expected to be reappointed by the incoming Trump administration, but that doesn’t necessarily mean she will step down promptly from the commission.
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November 26, 2024
Privacy Corner: Spy Museum’s Melton warns about supercharged risks with AI
The human weakness in intelligence gathering and sharing has been the subject of much of H. Keith Melton’s decades of work advising the US intelligence community since he graduated from the Naval Academy.
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November 26, 2024
GOP-controlled Congress could remove FTC’s antitrust powers
With the Republicans in control of the White House and Congress, momentum could build for legislation to give the Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust powers to the Department of Justice.
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November 26, 2024
DOJ antitrust enforcer speaks in Morocco
A top Justice Department antitrust enforcer addressed a conference on “Competitive Neutrality and Market Access” held in Morocco earlier this month.
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November 26, 2024
Calendar
Dec. 18 — The Federal Trade Commission is holding a virtual public workshop on “Competition Snuffed Out: How Predatory Pricing Harms Competition, Consumers, and Innovation.” It will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. ET. For more information, go to: https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/11/ftc-announces-virtual-workshop-predatory-pricing?utm_source=govdelivery.
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November 26, 2024
People — Odette takes on chair of national antitrust task force
Elizabeth Odette, who manages the antitrust division in the Minnesota AG’s office, is the new chair of the National Association of Attorneys General Multistate Antitrust Task Force as of Oct. 1.
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November 26, 2024
On the Shelf: Kissinger’s last book on AI heralds new beginning
As a Harvard undergraduate in the middle of the last century, Henry Kissinger wrote his senior thesis titled (in part): “The Meaning of History.” For his final work, published posthumously this month, his co-authors selected a similarly heady title.
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November 26, 2024
Tempur Sealy merger trial outcome may hinge on CEO’s credibility
The winning side in the government’s move to block the Tempur Sealy-Mattress Firm merger is likely to be whichever legal team convinces the judge to accept its narrative about the motives of Tempur Sealy Chief Executive Scott Thompson and its prediction on how Thompson will likely behave if the deal is cleared in the US.
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November 26, 2024
As robocalls plunge, state AGs want more action
The Federal Trade Commission received more than a million complaints about robocalls in fiscal year 2024, but the agency said this number represents more than a 50 percent reduction since fiscal year 2021.
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November 26, 2024
Neil Averitt commentary: Predicting next steps as agencies usher in latest Trump era
In the weeks since the election, everyone has been trying to figure out what comes next for antitrust and consumer protection — not only in the impending Trump administration, but also in the closing months of the Biden term.
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November 26, 2024
Seek Capital sued over alleged business scheme
The Federal Trade Commission sued Seek Capital, a company that simulated loans to small businesses, and its founder after the Delaware-based LLC allegedly took $37 million from consumers, according to a court filing.
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November 26, 2024
FTC’s costs for hiring expert witnesses down 20 percent in FY 2024
The Federal Trade Commission’s cost of hiring expert witnesses in competition cases — which the agency has previously acknowledged is a “top risk” — dipped by 20 percent in fiscal year 2024 from the previous year, the first such decrease in roughly half a decade.
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November 26, 2024
Lawmakers bolstered antitrust enforcement in 1914 with Clayton Act
This is the third in a series of articles marking the 110th anniversary of the Federal Trade Commission’s founding.
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November 12, 2024
Calendar
Dec. 18 — The Federal Trade Commission is holding a virtual public workshop on “Competition Snuffed Out: How Predatory Pricing Harms Competition, Consumers, and Innovation.” It will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. ET. For more information, go to: https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/11/ftc-announces-virtual-workshop-predatory-pricing?utm_source=govdelivery.
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November 12, 2024
Tapestry-Capri judge cites US merger guidelines while avoiding theory of harm
The federal judge that ruled on Tapestry’s proposed acquisition of Capri didn’t decide on whether the Federal Trade Commission had proven its prima facie case that the deal would eliminate head-to-head competition between the handbag makers.
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November 12, 2024
Antitrust, consumer protection policies face new reality after elections
The Federal Trade Commission and Justice Department will still have strong enforcement agendas, especially when pursuing Big Tech, but might greenlight more mergers, according to antitrust insiders. Meanwhile, the newly minted GOP majority in the Senate might try to find common ground with Democrats on reform legislation.
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November 12, 2024
Spotify defends bundling while trying to dodge courtroom copyright fight
Spotify told a New York federal court that its controversial premium audiobook bundle carries “more than token value” as the company seeks dismissal of a copyright lawsuit with potentially millions of dollars in music royalties on the line.
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November 12, 2024
People — FTC vet Mohr jumps to private practice
Stephen Mohr, who ran the Federal Trade Commission division that reviews healthcare mergers, is now a partner at Kirkland & Ellis.
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November 12, 2024
On the Shelf: A different way of looking at Woodrow Wilson
When conservatives criticize Woodrow Wilson, it usually centers on his work on the administrative state and his interventionist foreign policy.
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November 12, 2024
FTC sues cash advance app Dave
The Federal Trade Commission sued online cash advance app Dave after the company allegedly used “misleading marketing to deceive customers.”
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November 12, 2024
Consumers to get refunds after Credit Karma’s claims fall through
A multiyear process initiated by the Federal Trade Commission against credit services company Credit Karma for false pre-approval offers has culminated in a payment to about 50,000 consumers that cost the business more than $2.5 million.
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November 12, 2024
FTC’s neo-Brandeisian antitrust enforcement may end under Trump
Donald Trump’s return to the White House stands to derail many of the Federal Trade Commission’s ambitious antitrust enforcement priorities, including a polarizing but popular rulemaking effort to ban noncompete clauses in employee contracts nationwide and an expanded policing of unfair methods of competition.
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November 12, 2024
Neil Averitt commentary: How legal teams celebrate a big victory
Litigation teams have celebrated victory in pretty much all possible ways. For the most part they do this with modest expenditure and professional restraint. Yet on occasion, they have turned to strong drinks, baseball caps, and bathtubs filled with champagne and semi-naked litigators.
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November 12, 2024
Khan’s tenure as chair criticized in House panel report
A House panel has criticized Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan for politicizing the agency too much and overseeing a “sweeping destruction of agency norms.”
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November 12, 2024
Abiie, maker of high chairs, removes ‘Made in USA’ label after FTC review
Abiie, which makes products for the youngest Americans, is feeling the impact of the Made in USA Labeling Rule after a government review.