FTCWatch
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August 19, 2025
Amid tariffs and talk, FTC chairman pushes ‘Made in the USA’ rule
In a recent Oval Office presentation to the president, Apple CEO Tim Cook highlighted that even the box containing an American-made gold-based gift was made in the US. When companies make similar claims on ads, however, those are subject by law to a Federal Trade Commission standard.
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August 19, 2025
Nation’s largest landlord settles with DOJ, but state price-fixing suits continue
At least three states continued their claims in court against the nation’s largest landlord on allegations of algorithmic price-fixing even after the Department of Justice agreed to a proposed settlement with the company.
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August 19, 2025
Trump enforcers distance themselves from Biden-era antitrust enforcement
Gail Slater and the rest of the Trump administration are charting a path in antitrust enforcement that is becoming increasingly clear.
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August 19, 2025
Calendar
Sept. 10 — “The Antitrust Revolution,” a Latham & Watkins Forum, will feature a discussion between Federal Trade Commission member Mark Meador and NYU Law professor Daniel Francis. The event will be held on campus. For more details, go to: https://www.law.nyu.edu/events/latham-watkins-forum-antitrust-revolution.
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August 19, 2025
Antitrust probe into ‘Clean Truck Partnership’ ends
The Federal Trade Commission closed its investigation into whether several truck and engine companies and their trade association violated antitrust laws by entering into the “Clean Truck Partnership” with the California Air Resources Board.
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August 19, 2025
App reform measure gets Democratic backer
Legislation giving the Federal Trade Commission more enforcement powers to improve consumer choice for app users has gained a second sponsor. Now efforts to pass it will be led by House members from different parties.
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August 19, 2025
DOJ seeks divestitures in UnitedHealth’s buyout of Amedisys
The Department of Justice is seeking divestitures to settle its lawsuit over UnitedHealthGroup’s $3.3 billion acquisition of Amedisys.
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August 19, 2025
Asset managers’ Big Tobacco moment looms as US antitrust case over ESG advances
BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street’s failure to stop a controversial antitrust lawsuit brought by Republican state attorneys general has opened the door for litigation driven by a long-dormant economic theory challenging the core business model of companies managing trillions of dollars in assets.
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August 19, 2025
State AGs, FCC, senators seek to address robocalls
Attorneys general from throughout the country, via their Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force, have sent notices to 37 phone service providers this month in an effort to crack down on the routing of fraudulent robocalls.
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August 19, 2025
Match agrees to pay $14 million for misleading consumers
Match Group, the owner and operator of online dating services Match.com, OkCupid, PlentyOfFish, The League, and other dating sites, agreed to a $14 million settlement with the Federal Trade Commission.
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August 19, 2025
DOJ weighs antitrust risks of news fact-checking policies
News organizations that evaluate facts for their veracity are protected by the First Amendment. But if they coordinate these efforts, their actions could raise antitrust issues, according to the Department of Justice.
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August 19, 2025
People — Frazier joins Lawyers’ Committee on Civil Rights Under Law
In many ways, Leah Frazier’s departure from the Federal Trade Commission and arrival at the Lawyers’ Committee on Civil Rights Under Law represents a return, picking up her passion and producing a new path forward.
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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 19, 2025
On the Shelf: Confessions of a former FTC official
Most former directors of the Federal Trade Commission’s Office of Policy Planning don’t go on to careers that are consequential enough to be worthy of a memoir.
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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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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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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.”