The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Trump v. Slaughter regarding President Trump’s firing of Federal Trade Commission Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter, with the conservative majority signaling strong support for overturning Humphrey’s Executor v. United States, the 1935 unanimous …
Supreme CourtDonald TrumpRebecca SlaughterJohn RobertsElena Kagan+3 moresupreme-courtexecutive-powerindependent-agenciesseparation-of-powersconstitutional-law+5 more
Judge James Boasberg ruled that Meta does not hold an illegal monopoly in personal social networking, dismissing the FTC’s five-year antitrust case seeking to force divestiture of Instagram and WhatsApp despite extensive evidence of Meta’s “buy or bury” strategy to eliminate …
Judge James BoasbergMetaMark ZuckerbergFederal Trade CommissionLina Khanantitrustmetafacebookftcregulatory-capture+4 more
The U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon granted the Federal Trade Commission’s request for a preliminary injunction to prevent Kroger from acquiring Albertsons on December 10, 2024, blocking the largest proposed supermarket merger in U.S. history. The FTC had sued to block the $24.6 …
Federal Trade CommissionKroger CompanyAlbertsons CompaniesJudge Nelsonantitrustftckrogeralbertsonsmerger-enforcement+2 more
The Federal Trade Commission filed an administrative antitrust complaint against the three largest pharmacy benefit managers—CVS Caremark, Express Scripts (Cigna), and OptumRx (UnitedHealth)—and their affiliated group purchasing organizations, charging them with anticompetitive and unfair practices …
Federal Trade CommissionLina KhanCVS CaremarkExpress ScriptsOptumRx+3 morehealthcarepbmpharmacyantitrustftc+3 more
The Federal Trade Commission released its interim staff report titled ‘Pharmacy Benefit Managers: The Powerful Middlemen Inflating Drug Costs and Squeezing Main Street Pharmacies,’ revealing alarming market concentration and anticompetitive practices. The report found that three PBMs—CVS …
Federal Trade CommissionLina KhanCVS CaremarkExpress ScriptsOptumRx+1 morehealthcarepbmpharmacyantitrustregulatory-capture+3 more
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, joined by the Business Roundtable, the Texas Association of Business, and the Longview Chamber of Commerce, filed a lawsuit in Tyler, Texas federal court against the FTC and Chair Lina Khan over the commission’s vote to ban noncompete clauses used to block …
U.S. Chamber of CommerceFederal Trade CommissionLina KhanBusiness Roundtableantitrustftcchamber-of-commercecorporate-lobbyinglabor-rights+2 more
The Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice released final 2023 Merger Guidelines on December 18, 2023, representing a major departure from the consumer welfare standard that had guided antitrust enforcement for nearly half a century. The Guidelines signaled a move from the existing …
Federal Trade CommissionDepartment of JusticeLina KhanJonathan Kanterantitrustftcdojmerger-guidelinesregulatory-reform+2 more
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce filed a lawsuit against the Federal Trade Commission in December 2023, alleging a lack of transparency and accountability under Chairwoman Lina Khan’s leadership. The business group alleged that the FTC had regularly avoided responding to lawful requests for public …
U.S. Chamber of CommerceFederal Trade CommissionLina KhanSuzanne Clarkantitrustftcchamber-of-commercecorporate-lobbyingregulatory-resistance+1 more
The Federal Trade Commission, joined by 17 state attorneys general, filed a landmark antitrust lawsuit against Amazon alleging the company illegally maintains monopoly power in online retail through systematic anti-competitive practices. The complaint documents Amazon’s …
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The Federal Trade Commission issues a policy statement declaring that improper patent listings in the FDA’s ‘Orange Book’ (Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations) constitute potential unfair methods of competition under Section 5 of the FTC Act or unlawful …
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Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California denied the Federal Trade Commission’s motion for a preliminary injunction to block Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard on July 10, 2023. The FTC had voted to file a …
Federal Trade CommissionMicrosoft CorporationActivision BlizzardJudge Jacqueline Scott Corleyantitrustftcmicrosoftactivision-blizzardbig-tech+2 more
The Federal Trade Commission announced a $5.8 million settlement with Ring after finding the company compromised customers’ privacy by allowing employees and contractors to access private videos and failing to implement basic security protections that enabled hackers to take control of …
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U.S. District Court Judge Edward Davila (N.D. Cal.) denied the Federal Trade Commission’s request for a preliminary injunction to halt Meta’s acquisition of Within Unlimited, a VR fitness app developer, on January 31, 2023. The FTC had sued to block the merger in July 2022, arguing Meta …
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The Federal Trade Commission ordered private equity firm JAB Consumer Partners to divest veterinary clinics in four metropolitan areas as a condition of its $1.65 billion acquisition of Ethos Veterinary Health, citing concerns about JAB’s roll-up strategy creating local monopolies in specialty …
Federal Trade CommissionJAB Consumer PartnersJAB Holding CompanyNational Veterinary AssociatesEthos Veterinary Health+1 moreantitrustconsolidationprivate-equityveterinaryhealthcare+4 more
The Federal Trade Commission unanimously voted to authorize a comprehensive investigation into pharmacy benefit manager business practices under Section 6(b) of the FTC Act, with all five commissioners voting in favor. The FTC issued compulsory orders to the six largest PBMs—CVS Caremark, Express …
Federal Trade CommissionLina KhanChuck GrassleyMaria CantwellCVS Caremark+2 morehealthcarepbmpharmacyantitrustregulatory-capture+2 more
President Biden signed Executive Order 14036, ‘Promoting Competition in the American Economy,’ on July 9, 2021, launching what the administration characterized as the most comprehensive federal effort to promote competition since the New Deal. The executive order directed over a dozen …
Joe BidenFederal Trade CommissionDepartment of JusticeWhite House Competition Councilantitrustbiden-administrationcompetitionregulatory-reformexecutive-order+1 more
The U.S. Senate confirmed Lina Khan to the Federal Trade Commission by a bipartisan vote of 69-28 on June 15, 2021, and President Biden immediately named her chair of the five-member Commission. At 32, Khan became the youngest commissioner ever confirmed to the agency, let alone to lead it. Khan …
Lina KhanJoe BidenU.S. SenateFederal Trade Commissionantitrustftcbiden-administrationregulatory-reformlina-khan+1 more
The Federal Trade Commission, joined by 46 states, the District of Columbia, and Guam, files major antitrust lawsuit against Facebook alleging illegal monopolization through systematic acquisition of competitors Instagram and WhatsApp. The FTC seeks structural breakup of Facebook through forced …
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AbbVie completed its $63 billion acquisition of Allergan after FTC approval requiring divestiture of digestive drug brazikumab to resolve antitrust concerns. The merger created a pharmaceutical giant with combined 2019 revenues of $48 billion and a diversified portfolio spanning immunology, …
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The Federal Trade Commission approved Amazon’s $13.7 billion acquisition of Whole Foods Market on August 23, 2017, without an in-depth investigation. This decision demonstrated regulatory challenges in addressing 21st-century tech monopolies, as the FTC did not find substantial anticompetitive …
Facebook acquires WhatsApp for $19 billion, the largest tech acquisition to date, eliminating its primary competitor in mobile messaging and consolidating monopoly control over personal communications platforms. The FTC approves the acquisition without structural separation requirements despite …
FacebookMark ZuckerbergWhatsAppJan KoumBrian Acton+1 morefacebookwhatsappantitrustmergermonopolization+4 more
The Federal Trade Commission closed its 19-month antitrust investigation of Google without bringing charges, despite internal staff recommendations for legal action. With 230 White House meetings in 2012-2013, Google demonstrated unprecedented political access, ultimately avoiding significant …
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On August 9, 2012, the Federal Trade Commission announced that Google would pay a record $22.5 million civil penalty—the largest ever levied against a single company in FTC history—to settle charges of deliberately circumventing Apple Safari browser privacy settings to track users without their …
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On April 13, 2008, Google completed its $3.1 billion acquisition of DoubleClick, the dominant online advertising server and ad exchange operator. The merger, approved by the Federal Trade Commission in December 2007, combined Google’s search advertising dominance with DoubleClick’s …
GoogleDoubleClickFederal Trade CommissionPamela Jones Harbour (dissenting FTC Commissioner)David Rosenblatt (DoubleClick CEO)googledoubleclickmergerantitrustftc+3 more