Antitrust Policy archive - The Capitol Forum

FTC, DOJ Officials Emphasize Clayton Act’s ‘Tend to Create a Monopoly’ Prong, Broadening Scope of Deals in Agency Crosshairs

DOJ and FTC officials in recent speeches have touted a historically underutilized prong of the Clayton Act they said could serve to meaningfully broaden the scope of U.S. merger enforcement. The Clayton Act prohibits mergers or acquisitions whose effect “may be substantially to lessen...

Apr 28, 2022 Read Now >

Gazprom Firmly in EC’s Antitrust Sights as Pressure Mounts From Skyrocketing Energy Prices, War in Ukraine

European Commission investigators are stepping up their ongoing probe into allegations Russia’s state-owned Gazprom (GAZP) has abused its dominance on the wholesale natural gas market as political pressure mounts to address surging energy prices in light of the war in Ukraine. The...

Apr 11, 2022 Read Now >

Agency Process Divergence Leaves Deal Lawyers Hoping DOJ, Not FTC, Leads Their Merger Reviews

FTC Chair Lina Khan and DOJ antitrust division head Jonathan Kanter are fellow travelers in the anti-monopoly movement who have used their perches atop the U.S. antitrust agencies to implement much tougher approaches to merger review and remedy negotiations. But although DOJ under...

Apr 05, 2022 Read Now >

The Antitrust Agenda: Absent Senate Dems Stall Bedoya; Movement on Kanter Front Office; Khan and Kanter Collaboration Signals Drop in ABA Influence; NTIA Hire Sets Up Clash with DOJ Antitrust

Absent Senate Dems stall Bedoya. Sources supporting Alvaro Bedoya, President Joe Biden’s nominee for the FTC’s third Democratic commissioner slot, were expecting movement from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on the confirmation front last week. But Schumer needed all 50...

Mar 21, 2022 Read Now >

DOJ Probes Apple App Store Guidelines That Restrict Cloud Gaming Services, Super Apps

DOJ attorneys are probing whether guidelines Apple (AAPL) uses to restrict cloud gaming services and so-called super apps’ access to its App Store could harm competition and cement the company’s mobile dominance, sources familiar with the matter said. The department’s investigation,...

Mar 17, 2022 Read Now >

The European Antitrust Agenda: Google-Facebook Ad Deal Draws EC, CMA Probes Over Possible Collusion; CMA Nears Verdict on Norton/Avast Deal; Germany to Rule on Qualcomm/Arriver Transaction

Google and Meta face parallel probes by EC and CMA over adtech agreement. In a first since Brexit, the European Commission and the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority on Friday opened parallel investigations into whether Alphabet’s (GOOG) Google and Facebook parent Meta Platforms...

Mar 14, 2022 Read Now >

Algorithmic Collusion Will Draw Increasing EC Scrutiny Over Coming Years

The European Commission is assessing how companies might create cartels using artificial intelligence (AI)—increasingly the foundation of technology and commerce worldwide, The Capitol Forum has learned. Online retailers—think Amazon (AMZN) and eBay (EBAY), for example—as well as...

Mar 09, 2022 Read Now >

Poultry Price-Fixing Witnesses Were ‘Coerced’ Into Saying What DOJ Wanted to Hear, Defense Says

Witnesses against poultry executives charged with fixing prices and rigging bids for broiler chickens were coerced into saying what U.S. investigators wanted to hear, and the government’s star witness was a “liar,” defense attorneys told a jury in Denver on Thursday. FBI agents...

Feb 25, 2022 Read Now >

U.S. Poultry Executives Were ‘Cheating,’ Not Competing, DOJ Says as Price-Fixing Retrial Opens

Executives at poultry producers including Tyson Foods (TSN) and Pilgrim’s Pride (PPC) “weren’t competing, they were cheating,” a prosecutor told a jury in Denver on Wednesday, as the U.S. government opened its arguments in a retrial of 10 current and former managers charged with...

Feb 24, 2022 Read Now >

The Antitrust Agenda: Republican Tactics Could Further Complicate Bedoya Vote Timeline; Report Highlights DOJ Resource Concerns; DOD Issues High-Impact Report on Competition

Will Bedoya confirmation require nuclear option? President Joe Biden nominated Alvaro Bedoya to fill the FTC’s third Democratic seat on September 13. And although Bedoya—after a long wait—was expected to finally win Senate confirmation this month, Senator Ben Ray Lujan’s (D-NM)...

Feb 22, 2022 Read Now >

Meta Platforms: Deal For VR Fitness Startup Draws FTC Input, Customer Foreclosure Scrutiny, Third Party Concerns

Meta Platforms’ (FB) proposed purchase of virtual reality (VR) fitness startup Within is drawing FTC scrutiny over concerns the deal would harm rival VR headset manufacturers and app developers, sources familiar with the matter said. The deal, announced on October 29, would give...

Feb 22, 2022 Read Now >

The European Antitrust Agenda: Konecranes/Cargotec Deal Nears EC Decision; NortonLifeLock Delays Avast Closing; Five Eyes Alliance Targets Supply-Chain Collusion; Google Adds Android to “Privacy Sandbox”

Konecranes, Cargotec await EC merger decision. The European Commission could conclude its in-depth investigation into a merger between Konecranes (HEL: KCR) and Cargotec (HEL: CGCBV) as early as this week. The EU watchdog will decide on the deal by March 3, but Phase II decisions often...

Feb 22, 2022 Read Now >

Coordination Out Loud: Volume 9: Analysis of Public Comments from Old Dominion Freight Line CFO

Special Note: Coordination Out Loud is a series of articles that analyze select corporate transcripts through the lens of Joseph Harrington’s landmark paper, “Collusion in Plain Sight: Firms’ Use of Public Announcements to Restrain Competition.” The paper concludes that...

Feb 18, 2022 Read Now >

NLRB Atlanta Opera Briefs Include Antitrust Arguments and Novel Proposals, Setting Stage for Gig Economy to Face All-of-Government Approach on Misclassification Concerns

Public interest, government, and industry groups recently submitted more than 30 amicus briefs to the NLRB in a case called Atlanta Opera that could redefine the distinction between employees and independent contractors, and in turn have significant implications for prominent gig economy,...

Feb 17, 2022 Read Now >

The European Antitrust Agenda: Nvidia Abandons Arm Merger; Google Starts Complying with ‘Privacy Sandbox’ Commitments in UK; EC Opens Kingspan/Trimo Review; Apple Sees Dutch Dating-App Fines Pile Up

Nvidia terminates Arm merger plan. Nvidia (NVDA) last week abandoned its takeover of British chip designer Arm Holdings following regulatory resistance from competition authorities in Europe and the U.S. Though its review remained at an early stage in China, the State Administration for...

Feb 14, 2022 Read Now >

Coordination Out Loud: Volume 8: Analysis of Public Statements from BMW and Daimler Executives in the Financial Times

Special Note: Coordination Out Loud is a series of articles that analyze select corporate transcripts through the lens of Joseph Harrington’s landmark paper, “Collusion in Plain Sight: Firms’ Use of Public Announcements to Restrain Competition.” The paper concludes that antitrust...

Jan 18, 2022 Read Now >

The Antitrust Agenda: Joint FTC, DOJ Press Conference on Merger Guidelines Request for Information; Kanter Slate of Hires Expected Soon; Senate Banking Chair Brown, Warren Prod Fed Nominees on Concentration

The Antitrust Agenda: Joint FTC, DOJ Press Conference on Merger Guidelines Request for Information; Kanter Slate of Hires Expected Soon; Senate Banking Chair Brown, Warren Prod Fed Nominees on Concentration Kanter and Khan Joint Press Conference on Issuing Request for Information to...

Jan 18, 2022 Read Now >

The European Antitrust Agenda: Nvidia/Arm’s Slim UK Approval Chances; Google’s Showcase Probe Proposal; EC’s Block Of Shipbuilding Merger; End-game talks on EU’s DMA

Nvidia defends Arm deal. Nvidia’s (NVDA) response to the UK Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) in-depth probe of the company’s planned acquisition of British chip designer Arm Holdings articulates a defense that’s well within the mainstream of European antitrust law. Yet...

Jan 18, 2022 Read Now >

The Antitrust Agenda: Bedoya Committee Vote Pushed to January 24; Khan Continues to Meet with Congressional Republicans; Biden Repeats Concerns Over Monopolies in Meat Processing, Shipping, Rail and Big Tech

Bedoya hearing pushed to January 24. Originally, the Senate Commerce Committee’s re-vote on the nomination of Alvaro Bedoya, President Joe Biden’s choice to fill the FTC’s third Democratic seat, was tentatively set for January 12. But, according to a source, the vote has now been...

Jan 10, 2022 Read Now >

The European Antitrust Agenda: Google’s Clout Targeted in Germany; Developments in Microsoft/Nuance, Veolia/Suez Mergers; Meta Appeals Giphy Prohibition

Germany targets Google’s market power. Google faces deeper antitrust scrutiny in Germany following a Bundeskartellamt decision last week that the search engine and its parent, Alphabet (GOOG), meet a threshold for new abuse controls meant to speed up investigations. Remedies imposed on...

Jan 10, 2022 Read Now >

Momentum Builds for FTC Rulemaking Banning Exclusionary Contracts

Antitrust advocates hoping the FTC will direct its rulemaking attention to banning exclusionary contracts by dominant firms have received encouraging signals in recent weeks. Most obviously, the FTC in a December 10 statement disclosing its 2022 regulatory priorities said it was...

Jan 06, 2022 Read Now >

SAMR, In Anti-Corruption Push, Double-Checks Case Handlers’ Work, Likely Delaying Merger and Conduct Reviews

China’s antitrust agency, under pressure from a government anti-corruption watchdog, is double-checking senior staff’s work and more generally increasing supervision of its workforce, which could lead to delays in merger and conduct reviews, attorneys said. On Tuesday, the chief...

Dec 22, 2021 Read Now >

U.S. Bank Regulators Seek to Police Cryptocurrency With Existing Powers, Officials Say

Federal officials concerned that the cryptocurrency industry needs urgent oversight are developing plans to let banking regulators use their existing powers to examine crypto companies when they partner with traditional banks, according to financial and regulatory sources familiar with...

Dec 17, 2021 Read Now >

Tim Wu Update on Alcohol Market Concerns Hints at Category Management as Potential Area of Interest

Tim Wu, a special assistant to the president for competition policy, at a recent town hall discussion organized by American Economic Liberties Project identified distribution and vertical integration in alcohol markets as problems that he hoped that an upcoming study and rulemaking from...

Dec 17, 2021 Read Now >

AMD/Xilinx, GlobalWafers/Siltronic Reviews Could Serve as Signposts Indicating Chinese Antitrust Enforcement’s Future Direction

Advanced Micro Devices’ (AMD) proposed $35 billion Xilinx (XLNX) buyout and GlobalWafers’ (TPEX:6488) planned $5.3 billion Siltronic purchase (FRA:WAF) have attained a significance beyond the semiconductor industry as their antitrust reviews in China serve as signposts indicating...

Dec 10, 2021 Read Now >

The Antitrust Agenda: Khan Calendars; G7 Meeting Starts with a Bang as CMA Reportedly Set to Prohibit Facebook’s Acquisition of Giphy; New Yorker Profile Provides Insight into Khan’s Decision-Making Process

Meeting of G7 competition authorities starts with a bang. Before the heads of the G7 competition authorities kicked off their summit today in London to discuss ways to coordinate their approach to digital markets, the Financial Times broke the news that the CMA is set to prohibit...

Nov 29, 2021 Read Now >

The European Antitrust Agenda: Return of EC Cartel Fines; Defense Sector Raided; Veolia Proposes Suez Merger Concessions; Cargotec, Konecranes Get More Time for EC Remedies While Also Facing UK Concerns; Italy Halts Chinese Takeover; Facebook Offers Kustomer Undertakings

Cartel fines. Companies in breach of EU cartel rules have racked up fines totalling almost 1.4 billion euros ($1.58 billion) so far in 2021, according to updated statistics released last week by the European Commission. That compares to fines amounting to less than 300 million euros ($338...

Nov 29, 2021 Read Now >

Treasury’s TTB Prioritizes Deregulation, Excludes Public Health Analysis in Request for Information, Providing First Glimpse at Coming Fight with FTC and DOJ Over Industry Study

President Joe Biden’s July 9 executive order on promoting competition took the alcohol industry by surprise when it singled out beer, wine and spirits as a candidate for new rulemakings, industry sources said. The order calls for the Secretary for Treasury, “in consultation with...

Nov 20, 2021 Read Now >

Coordination Out Loud: Volume 7: Analysis of Public Statements from Johnson Controls CFO at Morgan Stanley Conference

Special Note: Coordination Out Loud is a series of articles that analyze select corporate transcripts through the lens of Joseph Harrington’s landmark paper, “Collusion in Plain Sight: Firms’ Use of Public Announcements to Restrain Competition.” The paper concludes that antitrust...

Oct 20, 2021 Read Now >

Alibaba, JD.com Agree to Settle Antitrust Suit as Regulators Deepen Crackdown on Internet Platforms

China’s two biggest e-commerce websites have agreed to settle a closely watched lawsuit in which JD.com (JD) accused Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) of engaging in monopolistic behavior and abusing its market dominance, sources familiar with the matter said. A settlement in the “great...

Sep 14, 2021 Read Now >

Visa: DOJ Targets Company’s Security, Tokenization Tactics in Ongoing Antitrust Probe

DOJ’s antitrust division is probing whether Visa (V) is pushing anti-fraud tools that help the company maintain its dominance in the online debit marketplace, sources familiar with the investigation said. Online shopping fraud has steadily climbed in recent years with losses on debit...

Sep 13, 2021 Read Now >

Amazon, Walmart in the Line of Fire as Biden Appointees Dust Off Robinson-Patman Act

Amazon (AMZN), Walmart (WMT) and other megaretailers could face renewed antitrust scrutiny and lawsuits under quiet moves by the Biden administration to resuscitate a Depression-era law meant to prevent large corporate buyers from purchasing goods at cheaper prices than smaller rivals...

Aug 24, 2021 Read Now >

Horizontal Concerns Take Center Stage as EC Begins New In-Depth Merger Probes

The European Commission recently launched two in-depth probes into mergers involving the proposed combination of direct competitors, ticking the most common box for heightened regulatory scrutiny in Brussels. But in the months ahead, a vertical deal is set to join those proposed tie-ups...

Jul 14, 2021 Read Now >

As DOJ Investigates Taboola and Outbrain for Possible Labor Antitrust Violations, Former Company Employees Describe Very Little Worker Movement Between the Two Close Ad-Tech Rivals

Recently, Taboola (TBLA) said in an SEC filing that the company and the ad-tech industry were the subject of a DOJ criminal labor antitrust investigation. On Tuesday, Outbrain—Taboola’s closest rival, which is planning to go public—said in an SEC filing the department’s antitrust...

Jul 01, 2021 Read Now >

Facebook/Giphy: UK, EC Dial Up Antitrust Scrutiny as Giphy Acquisition Hangs By a Thread

The UK’s competition watchdog last week intensified scrutiny of Facebook’s (FB) dominance in digital advertising, further complicating the authority’s ongoing review of the social network giant’s completed acquisition of Giphy. The Competition and Market Authority antitrust...

Jun 08, 2021 Read Now >

Meituan: Antitrust Agency Close to Wrapping Up Probe’s Initial Phase; Significant Penalties Seen

China’s antitrust authority is close to wrapping up the initial phase of its probe into online food-delivery giant Meituan (3690: HK), sources familiar with the matter said. The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) on April 26 launched its investigation into the Hong...

Jun 04, 2021 Read Now >

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