FTCWatch
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October 17, 2023
Pfizer following Amgen’s playbook by giving FTC little time to review Seagen buy
Pfizer has indicated it won't give the Federal Trade Commission much time to review its acquisition of Seagen, a strategy also adopted by Amgen for its Horizon Therapeutics buy, which resulted in a lawsuit and ultimately a settlement.
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October 17, 2023
Hostess, J.M. Smucker notify US, Canadian antitrust authorities of deal
Hostess Brands and J.M. Smucker notified antitrust authorities in the US and Canada of their proposed tie-up on Sept. 22, J.M. Smucker said in a securities filing.
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October 17, 2023
On the Shelf: Musk biography depicts flawed giant
Groundbreaking geniuses usually come across as jerks. That comes to mind frequently when reading Walter Isaacson’s long and provocative biography of Elon Musk.
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October 03, 2023
FTC’s reopening of Microsoft-Activision administrative trial a departure from precedent
The Federal Trade Commission is reopening an administrative procedure after it agreed to withdraw from adjudication, an unprecedented move in modern times after losing a request for a preliminary injunction in a merger case.
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October 03, 2023
Scams using payment apps spark consumer warning
The Federal Trade Commission cautioned consumers about scammers using mobile payment apps, and money transfer companies have responded by creating educational resources for customers.
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October 03, 2023
Tax preparers put on notice about misusing data
Five tax preparation companies received warnings from the Federal Trade Commission they could face civil penalties if they misuse confidential data collected from consumers.
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October 03, 2023
Agri Stats sued over meat industry scheme
Agri Stats facilitates the exchange of competitively sensitive data between meat processors to promote industry profits at the expense of rivals, the Department of Justice said in a complaint.
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October 03, 2023
FTC had funding to stay open for three weeks if shutdown happened
While the government avoided a shutdown when Congress passed a stopgap measure on Saturday, if lawmakers hadn’t acted, the immediate impact on the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice would have been minimal.
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October 03, 2023
FTC confirmation session touches on the political, personal and procedural
A Senate confirmation hearing on the Federal Trade Commission featured sharp criticism over agency practices as well as some unscripted, light moments.
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October 03, 2023
US, Mexico, Canada to fight collusion during 2026 World Cup
The Department of Justice’s antitrust division along with the Mexican and Canadian authorities launched an initiative to detect collusive schemes in connection with the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
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October 03, 2023
In Amazon antitrust lawsuit, FTC’s Section 5 powers could be tested
The Federal Trade Commission’s new Amazon complaint raises a question about whether the agency intends to push its power to police “unfair” behavior by firms that doesn’t fall clearly within the scope of the Sherman Act.
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October 03, 2023
Calendar
Oct. 17 — The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation is holding a virtual panel discussion on “Assessing the FTC’s Complaint Against Amazon.” It will be held from noon to 1 p.m. For more information, go to: https://itif.org/events/2023/10/17/assessing-the-ftc-complaint-against-amazon/.
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October 03, 2023
Neil Averitt commentary: Is AI the enforcer’s friend?
We have been reading a steady stream of stories about the consumer dangers posed by artificial intelligence, so perhaps it’s time to think about the ways that AI may help enforcement efforts.
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October 03, 2023
Feds recommit to stopping spam, scams, illegal telemarketing
The Federal Trade Commission and Federal Communications Commission signed a renewed agreement with the Unsolicited Communications Enforcement Network. The agreement aims to combat unsolicited communications, including email and text spam, scams, and illegal telemarketing.
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October 03, 2023
On the Shelf: A fascinating, maddening guide to ‘dark patterns’
Harry Brignull, a British user experience designer, coined the phrase “dark patterns” back in 2010, referring to the persistent practice of websites and apps manipulating consumers into taking actions they might not otherwise have intended.
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October 03, 2023
FTC extends deadline decision on facial recognition software
The Federal Trade Commission extended its deadline by 120 days to consider allowing a new parental consent mechanism by websites.
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October 03, 2023
Lawsuits by Wright, accusers show areas of agreement amid the clashes
In dueling lawsuits, former Federal Trade Commission member Joshua Wright and two of his former students agree that both had sexual relationships with him while he was married. They disagree on whether those relationships were improper given the power disparity and should have cost him his job and consulting opportunities.
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October 03, 2023
People
Antitrust veteran Mackowski joins Squire Patton Boggs
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September 19, 2023
Calendar
Oct. 4 — The Federal Trade Commission is holding a virtual roundtable on the impact of generative artificial intelligence on creative fields. It will be held 3 p.m. ET. For more information, go to: https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2023/09/ftc-host-virtual-roundtable-ai-content-creation.
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September 19, 2023
Meta and FTC, in charged written exchange over 2020 privacy settlement, swap barbs over ‘unlawful’ behavior
The Federal Trade Commission is like a cheating golfer who breaks the rules to “take a mulligan” in its “unlawful” bid to reopen a $5 billion privacy settlement with Meta Platforms approved by a federal court, the social media company told a federal judge.
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September 19, 2023
People
Rejouis merges worker protection, tech policy
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September 19, 2023
Healthcare staffing executive indicted over fixing nurses’ wages
Healthcare staffing executive Eduardo Lopez has been indicted for allegedly conspiring to fix the wages of Las Vegas nurses, the Department of Justice announced.
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September 19, 2023
Asphalt paving firm, president plead guilty to bid-rigging charges
F. Allied Construction Co. and its president, Andrew Foster, pleaded guilty to participating in two separate conspiracies to rig bids for asphalt paving services contracts in Michigan, the US Department of Justice said.
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September 19, 2023
Toy manufacturers split with privacy advocates on parental consent proposal
Toy manufacturers endorsed a proposal for using facial age estimation technology to obtain parental consent for children online, but privacy advocates cautioned against it in public comments to the Federal Trade Commission.
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September 19, 2023
‘Antidomination’ should replace consumer sovereignty framework, professor argues
The Federal Trade Commission is appropriately moving away from a mindset of preserving consumer choice in favor of values-based appeals, University of Alabama law professor Luke Herrine says.