FTCWatch

  • June 18, 2024

    Calendar

    June 27 — Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter is among the speakers at the Open Markets Institute’s conference on “Fixing the Information Crisis Before It’s Too Late (For Democracy).” It will be held at the National Press Club, 529 14th Street, NW, Washington, DC. For more details, go to: https://www.openmarketsinstitute.org/publications/fixing-the-information-crisis.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.”

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • June 04, 2024

    People

    Antitrust vet Cornell lands at Debevoise & Plimpton

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.”

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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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