The American Bar Association Antitrust Law Section’s annual Spring Meeting is underway in Washington, DC. The annual Spring Meeting features updates from federal, state and international antitrust enforcers and extensive discussion on priority antitrust issues affecting various industries. In this article, we highlight the key takeaways from the first portion of the Spring Meeting.
WHAT HAPPENED
WHAT THIS MEANS
Topics covered in this edition:
Mergers and acquisitions will continue to face strong headwinds at the Federal Trade Commission and the US Department of Justice under new proposed Merger Guidelines released on July 19, 2023. The Proposed Guidelines embody the antitrust agencies’ aggressive posture toward merger enforcement under the Biden administration. This On the Subject highlights the most significant changes in the Proposed Guidelines and what steps companies contemplating mergers and other transactions should take in the face of these changes.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has proposed, for comment, significant changes to the information and documents to be submitted with premerger filings—even in transactions that do not raise significant antitrust issues. The changes proposed may not take effect and may be different when finalized. But if promulgated as proposed, every Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) filing will be more difficult and time-consuming, and transactions that might raise even marginal antitrust issues will require significant up-front work.
A recent announcement by multiple federal agencies has highlighted their intention to enforce their separate regulations against developers, deployers and users of AI systems. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Lina Khan and officials from the US Department of Justice (DOJ), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) each reinforced their worries about automated systems, citing civil rights, fair competition, consumer protection and equal opportunity concerns. Their serious language, joint public commitment and previous enforcement actions in this area make this statement no simple theater.
With growing consumer demand for environmentally friendly products and services, businesses are ramping up their “green” advertising endeavors to showcase eco-friendly credentials like carbon emissions reductions, renewable energy and recycled materials. In light of this surge in “going green” marketing, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has proposed revisions to its Guides for Use of Environmental Marketing Claims (Green Guides). The aim is to furnish companies with supplementary guidance on the types of environmental claims that can be made and the necessary substantiation required to steer clear of legal disputes, penalties or unfavorable public perception. These revisions could significantly impact advertisers that make “green” claims by requiring more specificity and more substantiation than before.
In March 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) proposed tightened requirements of the Negative Option Rule. This is an effort to combat unfair or deceptive practices, such as charging customers for recurring products or services that they don’t want and can’t cancel easily. Negative options refer to features like automatic renewals, prenotification plans, free-to-pay and fee-to-pay conversions, and continuity programs.
The FTC seeks to increase the requirements for negative options to prevent marketers from deceiving or making it difficult for consumers to cancel or opt out of subscriptions, notifications or similar programs. The proposed regulations aim to avoid any hindrance or deception to consumers who want to opt out or cancel.
Topics covered in this edition:
The American Bar Association’s Antitrust Law Section held its annual Spring Meeting in Washington, DC, on March 29–31, 2023. The Spring Meeting sessions featured updates from federal, state, and international antitrust enforcers and thought-invoking discussions on leading antitrust issues facing the business community today. Following Part 1, this post summarizes key takeaways from the second portion of the Spring Meeting, including updates regarding premerger notification filings, labor markets, state antitrust enforcement, compliance programs, national security, consumer protection, interlocking directorates, and remedies.
FTC Zeros in on Missing Material in HSR Filings
Labor Markets Remain High Priority
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