As newly-appointed Republican leaders explain the antitrust enforcement priorities of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ), one thing is clear: the Trump administration is...more
5/16/2025
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Biden Administration ,
Competition ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Mergers ,
Monopolization ,
Trump Administration
In a speech at Notre Dame Law School on April 28, 2025, Gail Slater, Assistant Attorney General (AAG) for the Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division, provided a detailed summary of her approach to antitrust...more
As the first 100 days of President Trump’s second term draw to a close, the new administration’s antitrust enforcement agenda is coming into focus. In recent statements, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Andrew Ferguson...more
4/25/2025
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Mergers ,
Monopolization ,
Technology Sector ,
Trump Administration
On March 18, 2025, President Donald Trump fired the two remaining Democratic Commissioners on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya. Their firing sets the stage for a potential...more
On October 3, 2024 the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ or the Antitrust Division) participated in the G7 Competition Authorities and Policymakers Summit, which focused on...more
It has been two years since President Biden signed a far-reaching, industry-spanning Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy. The Executive Order outlined a “whole-of-government” approach to...more
9/1/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Biden Administration ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Horizontal Mergers ,
Merger Reviews ,
Mergers ,
Popular ,
Vertical Mergers
On 26 August 2022 the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) continued its recent trend of expanding its ability to initiate new investigations, announcing that it approved omnibus resolutions that will allow the agency to...more
Transactions and other investments in the health care industry by private equity firms are a hot enforcement topic at both the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) recently concluded a series of public virtual listening forums to hear testimony from individuals who have “experienced firsthand the effects of mergers and...more
Responding to a significant increase in recent merger and acquisition activity and concern about the effects of “merger driven consolidation across markets,” leadership at the Department of Justice Antitrust Division (“DOJ”...more
On 15 September 2021 the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) held its third open meeting under the leadership of Chair Lina Khan. As expected, the Commissioners voted along party lines to rescind the Vertical Merger Guidelines...more
On 9 July 2021 President Biden signed a far-reaching executive order intended to promote competition in the American economy. The order targets perceived corporate consolidation and anticompetitive activity in the labor,...more
On 22 December 2020, on a divided vote, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC or the Commission) issued a Commentary on Vertical Merger Enforcement (FTC Commentary) to provide “greater transparency to the public regarding its...more
On Tuesday, November 3, 2020, Americans chose the presidency and the makeup of the United States Congress. With the U.S. election now decided, with the exception of the Georgia Senate races, we are delighted to share with you...more
12/29/2020
/ 5G Network ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Biden Administration ,
CFIUS ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Foreign Investment ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Infrastructure ,
Presidential Elections ,
Public Transportation ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Tax Reform
An overhaul of tech antirust policy? Increased telecommunications regulations coupled with expanding telecoms infrastructure? Business as usual for Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFUIS) investigations?...more
On 11 August 2020, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (“Ninth Circuit”), in a unanimous opinion by Judge Callahan, reversed the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC’s”) win in the district court...more
8/20/2020
/ 5G Network ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FRAND ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
IP License ,
Microchip Technology ,
OEM ,
Patents ,
Qualcomm ,
Sherman Act ,
Standard Essential Patents ,
Suppliers ,
Wireless Technology
On 18 May 2020 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled against the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in an antitrust case challenging the association's policy of limiting the compensation paid to...more
On 24 March 2020 the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Bureau of Competition of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) (collectively the agencies) released a joint statement providing guidance to the...more
Dutch competition authority imposes fine on company for deleted chat messages during a dawn raid -
The Dutch competition authority (“ACM“) recently confirmed that the obligation to cooperate fully with an inspection/during...more
3/23/2020
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
BSA/AML ,
Competition ,
Competition Authorities ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Monopolization ,
Threshold Requirements
On 11 March 2020 the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) held a workshop to discuss comments on the draft vertical merger guidelines (the guidelines) published by DOJ and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on 10 January 2020....more
On 11 February 2020 Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it has issued Special Orders to five large technology firms requiring them to “provide information about prior acquisitions not reported to the antitrust...more
2/13/2020
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Request For Information ,
Threshold Requirements
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) have extended the deadline for public comments on the draft vertical merger guidelines (the Guidelines), which were published jointly by the agencies on 10...more
2/5/2020
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Anticompetitive Behavior ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Comment Period ,
Competition ,
Deadlines ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Draft Guidance ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Merger Controls ,
Public Comment ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Vertical Mergers
On Friday, 10 January 2020 the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) (collectively, the agencies) announced the publication of draft vertical merger guidelines that describe how the agencies currently...more
1/14/2020
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Anticompetitive Behavior ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Comment Period ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Draft Guidance ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Vertical Mergers
On 12 December 2019, the Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) announced that it has entered into a proposed consent decree with the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) settling charges that...more
12/16/2019
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Code of Conduct ,
Competition ,
Consent Decrees ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Ethical Standards ,
Ethics ,
Mobile Devices ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Trade Associations
Read the latest news on antitrust, competition and economic regulation (ACER) in this Autumn's edition of our quarterly ACER newsletter.
Algorithms in the spotlight of antitrust authorities -
Joint study by the...more
12/10/2019
/ Algorithms ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Belgian Competition Authority ,
Belgium ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Marketplace ,
EU ,
Germany ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Luxembourg ,
Merger Controls ,
Netherlands ,
Popular ,
Public Procurement Policies ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Statutory Violations