FTCWatch
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August 19, 2025
Neil Averitt commentary: Assessing the Hewlett Packard-Juniper settlement
What should we make of the Department of Justice’s merger case involving Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Juniper Networks? A settlement was pressed on the Antitrust Division by the DOJ’s front office and has been put under a microscope for clues about the Trump administration’s approach to antitrust generally.
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August 19, 2025
Trump reshapes US merger control, giving rise to uncertainty
Lobbying the White House or pitching the US Attorney General promise to become standard practice for companies seeking merger approval as the administration of President Donald Trump reshapes merger law enforcement.
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August 05, 2025
People — Kades, a Biden trustbuster, offers states an enforcement edge
Reporters don’t stick to Michael Kades like they used to when he was one of President Joe Biden’s senior antitrust enforcers.
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August 05, 2025
Calendar
Sept. 15-17 — Federal Trade Commission member Mark Meador and Consumer Protection Bureau Director Chris Mufarrige will speak at the BBB National Programs, National Advertising Division 2025 Annual Conference. It will be held at the Conrad Hotel in Washington, DC. For more information, go to: https://bbbprograms.swoogo.com/NAD2025.
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August 05, 2025
Privacy Corner: What can stump a privacy lawyer? The Foundry’s annual trivia night
The Privacy Act of 1974 has been in the spotlight this year with over a dozen lawsuits against the Trump administration alleging it’s being violated.
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August 05, 2025
Antitrust enforcers Alford, Rinner fired by DOJ
Roger Alford and William Rinner, two top enforcers in the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, were fired from their jobs following weeks of tensions with agency leadership over a merger settlement. Their termination letters stated no reason for their removal, MLex has learned.
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August 05, 2025
Ousted Commissioner Slaughter keeps fighting to return to FTC
Rebecca Kelly Slaughter is still battling to get her job back at the Federal Trade Commission. The former commissioner has been removed twice from the agency.
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August 05, 2025
Media Matters case raises First Amendment, antitrust issues
The Federal Trade Commission’s investigation of the liberal advocacy group Media Matters for America raises First Amendment and antitrust issues as well as questions about the agency’s jurisdiction over nonprofit organizations.
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August 05, 2025
Webinars spotlight scams targeting military, older adults
Two Federal Trade Commission webinars in July highlighted agency efforts to address scams, particularly those that could affect the military community as well as older adults.
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August 05, 2025
FTC gets $15 million to update computer systems, build out ‘cloud’
The Federal Trade Commission has received a $14.6 million allocation to upgrade the agency’s computer systems, funded from a Biden-era bill that put $1 billion into bolstering technology across the federal government.
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August 05, 2025
Neil Averitt commentary: Thurman Arnold, a towering high-plains figure in antitrust
Every profession needs its heroes, and one of the great heroes of antitrust is Thurman Arnold. But we often forget that it was his youth in frontier, high-plains Wyoming that taught the habits of mind that led to his later victories.
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August 05, 2025
Congress considers ‘click to cancel’ bills after FTC rule is blocked
Senators are describing the cancellation of unwanted subscriptions with the language of circus acts and track meets: “jumping through endless hoops … song-and-dance routine … complicated hurdles … running around in circles.”
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August 05, 2025
FTC wants input on gender-affirming care for minors
The Federal Trade Commission announced a public inquiry surrounding gender-affirming care, especially concerning minors.
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August 05, 2025
HPE-Juniper merger settlement draws congressional backlash
A group of senators led by Elizabeth Warren voiced concerns over the Department of Justice’s approval of Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s $14 billion acquisition of Juniper Networks.
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August 05, 2025
Consumers get refunds in wake of student loan scam
The Federal Trade Commission is sending more than $356,900 in refunds to consumers harmed by scammers who lured them into a program that promised student loan forgiveness.
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August 05, 2025
On the Shelf: How China has fueled much of Apple’s growth
Apple’s success has resulted in huge profits, great admiration and intense scrutiny by enforcers and lawmakers. While savvy marketing and innovative design have been factors, a major driver of the company’s success stems from making 90 percent of its products in China.
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August 05, 2025
Democrats aim to boost FTC powers over surveillance pricing
Several House members have introduced legislation that would give the Federal Trade Commission the power to go after companies that use AI to set prices or wages based on Americans’ personal data.
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July 22, 2025
Privacy Corner: Creator of ‘Screenagers’ crusades against phones in classrooms
Dr. Delaney Ruston had been making documentaries about mental health issues for years. But it wasn’t until she had young teens pleading for more screentime that Ruston delved into understanding how technology affects mental health.
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July 22, 2025
House members ask subcommittee to seek FTC study of concession prices
When the New York Liberty took the court earlier this month at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, the problem was not getting fans in the seats to see the reigning WNBA champions. The issue in the arena, according to one attendee, was in the concourse.
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July 22, 2025
Calendar
Aug. 4 — The Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission are holding a joint virtual listening session at 2 p.m. ET on “Turning Insights into Action to Reduce Drug Prices.” For more details, go to: https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2025/06/ftc-doj-host-listening-sessions-lowering-americans-drug-prices-through-competition?utm_source=govdelivery.
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July 22, 2025
‘When I was there’: Former officials extol FTC’s bipartisan structure
Regardless of the final outcome of litigation involving two members of the Federal Trade Commission, March 18, the day President Donald Trump purportedly fired the Democrats, is an important moment in the agency’s history.
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July 22, 2025
DOJ closes probe of T-Mobile’s buyout of UScellular
The Department of Justice closed its antitrust probe of T-Mobile’s acquisition of UScellular.
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July 22, 2025
Antitrust whistleblower program could disrupt cartels, but questions loom
The Department of Justice’s new whistleblower rewards program opens up a new avenue for the agency’s Antitrust Division to learn of potential cartels and supplement its leniency program, but questions remain about its scope and implementation.
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July 22, 2025
Media Matters says FTC probe should be blocked by judge
Media Matters upped the stakes in its free-speech lawsuit against the Federal Trade Commission, asking a judge to grant an injunction blocking the agency’s probe of the liberal content-moderation watchdog on grounds the nonprofit will suffer irreparable harm without an injunction.
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July 22, 2025
On the Shelf: High court, high snark
If you like your legal analysis with intellectual rigor and more than a bit of snark, then Leah Litman has written just the book for you.