FTCWatch
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June 18, 2024
Antitrust litigation strategy needs work, DOJ official says
Deputy Assistant Attorney General Andrew Forman offered ways to fine-tune antitrust litigation in remarks at the annual Hal White antitrust conference.
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June 18, 2024
Privacy Corner: Harris warns of potential AI pitfalls amid election season
When regulators and politicians need help understanding the threats artificial intelligence poses to democratic elections, they turn to researcher and former Facebook employee David Evan Harris.
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June 18, 2024
House panel recommends budget cut for FTC
The Federal Trade Commission would get $37 million less for the fiscal year starting in October if a key House panel gets its way.
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June 18, 2024
Neil Averitt commentary: AI, creative work and the possible challenges
Artificial intelligence is poised to disrupt established practices across the economy, and nowhere more than in the creative professions such as writing or illustrating, where human artists may be forced to compete against computer programs that have been trained on the artists’ own prior work.
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June 18, 2024
Despite support for FTC’s Khan, Republicans could push for agency changes
Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan has a small, but vocal, fan club among Republicans who like the agency’s efforts to go after Big Tech. But that wouldn’t be enough to prevent efforts to weaken some of the agency’s powers if Republicans gain more power in Congress or win back the White House.
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June 18, 2024
FTC issues final amendments to Amplifier Rule
The Federal Trade Commission issued final amendments to its Amplifier Rule aimed at helping consumers make direct comparisons of home entertainment amplifiers.
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June 18, 2024
Horseracing rule changes coming in July
The Federal Trade Commission approved changes to a rule that improves racetrack safety and enhances the welfare of both horses and jockeys.
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June 18, 2024
As NCAA finalizes settlement over student-athlete pay, questions remain
As the National Collegiate Athletics Association continues to resolve the patchwork of antitrust challenges to its rules for student-athletes, it remains unclear whether a settlement over the limits on compensation and benefits that such athletes receive could open up the organization to additional lawsuits.
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June 18, 2024
On the Shelf: A tale of several lobbyists
When citizens become frustrated with the current state of politics they often say — or at least think — “a pox on both their houses.”
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June 04, 2024
Calendar
June 13 — George Mason University’s Mercatus Center is sponsoring “A Conversation with FTC Commissioner Andrew Ferguson hosted by Alden Abbott.” It will be held virtually at 1 p.m. ET. For more information, go to: https://www.mercatus.org/events/2024/06/conversation-ftc-commissioner-andrew-ferguson-hosted-alden-abbott.
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June 04, 2024
Wright’s defamation suit against former students he dated can proceed, judge says
A defamation lawsuit filed by former Federal Trade Commissioner Joshua Wright against two former students and colleagues who accused him of sexual misconduct can proceed, a Virginia state court judge ruled.
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June 04, 2024
Kroger-Albertsons challenges show Walmart hovering over grocery deals
Kroger and Albertsons have rejected most of what the Federal Trade Commission has to say about their deal, but both sides can agree on at least one thing: Supercenters like Walmart and Target are changing the way Americans get groceries.
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June 04, 2024
Pay for FTC employees ranks at bottom in 2023 survey
The Federal Trade Commission ranked at the bottom of a 2023 survey assessing employee pay among mid-sized government agencies.
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June 04, 2024
CFPB gets report of FTC’s actions on auto financing, junk fees
The Federal Trade Commission has informed the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau of its enforcement efforts concerning the Truth in Lending Act, Consumer Leasing Act, and Electronic Fund Transfer Act.
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June 04, 2024
People
Antitrust vet Cornell lands at Debevoise & Plimpton
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June 04, 2024
Joyce brings pragmatic, prosecutorial expertise to overseeing FTC budget
The House Republican with the most to say over the Federal Trade Commission’s budget is a pragmatic conservative who has been a public servant for most of his career.
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June 04, 2024
On the Shelf: Liberal economist redefines one of the right’s favorite words
Traditional conservatives have a passionate intellectual love affair with freedom. They treat the works of thinkers such as Milton Friedman, Friedrich Hayek and Adam Smith as if they were gospel.
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June 04, 2024
Klobuchar’s antitrust overhaul measure faces long shot
Senator Amy Klobuchar is trying again to get her colleagues to pass a strong antitrust bill, but partisan bickering and the short election-year calendar could doom the latest measure.
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June 04, 2024
Neil Averitt commentary: Challenging computerized collusion
It’s probably the hottest topic in today’s antitrust circles: how should the agencies go about challenging the new price-fixing that is done through shared computer programs? In the years ahead, we should expect the Federal Trade Commission and Justice Department to devise a more systematic way to divide up this work according to their areas of strength.
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June 04, 2024
Antitrust agencies to identify serial acquisitions, roll-ups
The Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice’s antitrust division are asking for information to identify serial acquisitions and roll-ups “throughout the economy that have led to consolidation that has harmed competition.”
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June 04, 2024
Newly passed House bill could lead to Swifties, others rejoicing soon
It’s been a long time coming. In a rare moment of bipartisanship, the House passed 388-24 a bill that would end hidden fees in event pricing — and it’s happening a year and a half after demand for Taylor Swift tickets broke the Internet.
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June 04, 2024
Best Buy, Amazon, PayPal most frequently impersonated by scammers
Best Buy, Amazon and PayPal are the companies scammers impersonate most often, according to new data from the Federal Trade Commission.
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June 04, 2024
Blackbaud, FTC finalize data breach settlement
The Federal Trade Commission finalized its February settlement with software company Blackbaud over a 2020 data breach.
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May 21, 2024
Exxon-Pioneer complaint boosts class actions, poses hurdles for DOJ probe
A raft of proposed class actions alleging that high US gas prices are linked to a global crude oil price-fixing conspiracy received a boost following Federal Trade Commission allegations that American oil tycoon Scott Sheffield has facilitated direct communication between industry competitors and the world’s preeminent oil cartel.
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May 21, 2024
GOP House members skeptical of FTC budget hike request
Republicans who partially control the purse strings of the Federal Trade Commission seemed reluctant to give the agency the 25 percent budget increase it wants. But they didn’t go after Chair Lina Khan at her annual appearance before a House spending panel on May 15.