The Federal Trade Commission

[phkrause]

US sues to block merger of grocery giants Kroger and Albertsons, saying it could push prices higher

The Federal Trade Commission sued to block a proposed merger between grocery giants Kroger and Albertsons, saying the $24.6 billion deal would eliminate competition and lead to higher prices for millions of Americans.

https://apnews.com/article/kroger-albertsons-antitrust-grocery-merger-competition-71b47dc86ec7449f29b2b488c1d3f9de?

[phkrause]

FTC sends $5.6 million in refunds to Ring customers as part of video privacy settlement

NEW YORK (AP) — The Federal Trade Commission is sending more than $5.6 million in refunds to consumers as part of a settlement with Amazon-owned Ring, which was charged with failing to protect private video footage from outside access.

https://apnews.com/article/ring-doorbell-camera-settlement-ftc-payments-658a3bae14c4744cf449932099dc4404?

[phkrause]

Net neutrality restored as FCC votes to regulate internet providers

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Federal Trade Commission on Thursday voted to restore “net neutrality” rules that prevent broadband internet providers such as Comcast and Verizon from favoring some sites and apps over others.

https://apnews.com/article/net-neutrality-fcc-broadband-regulation-cc8421bc4f11a3e0f6ffc22c358fbfd0?

[phkrause]

Amazon Is Eating The Economy

Once upon a time, Amazon was a quirky website for buying books. Today it’s grown into a behemoth that has a hand in almost every facet of daily life, from retail shopping to streaming services to even health care — and for decades, regulators let it muscle out competition without complaint. 

https://www.levernews.com/lever-time-amazon-is-eating-the-economy/

[phkrause]

Williams-Sonoma must pay almost $3.2 million for violating FTC’s ‘Made in USA’ order

NEW YORK (AP) — Home products retailer Williams-Sonoma will have to pay almost $3.2 million for violating a Federal Trade Commission “Made in USA” order.

https://apnews.com/article/williams-sonoma-fine-ftc-made-usa-10313984e90fa206d219ed0546a2b9a2?

[phkrause]

FTC ban on noncompete agreements comes under legal attack

NEW YORK (AP) — The federal government wants to make it easier for employees to quit a job and work for a competitor. But some companies say a new rule created by the Federal Trade Commission will make it hard to protect trade secrets and investments they make in their employees.

https://apnews.com/article/noncompete-workers-ftc-lawsuit-fe91a378e15086402550e0fb10467214?

[phkrause]

⏱️ Lina Khan's "60 Minutes" defense

 

FTC chair Lina Khan defended her agency's historically aggressive antitrust run in an interview on "60 Minutes" last night — and said she'd be honored to work in a Harris administration, Axios Pro Tech Policy's Ashley Gold writes.

• Why it matters: Khan has every incentive to keep being ambitious until her time runs out — either if former President Trump wins or Vice President Harris appoints another Democrat to head the agency.

A future chair could choose to drop or scale down her Amazon case and others.

• Khan brushed off the idea that her agency and the DOJ are out of control when it comes to antitrust action: "It's important to step back and keep all of this in context. Of all the thousands of deals that are proposed every year, the FTC and DOJ collectively investigate maybe 2% or 3%."

Watch the segment ... 

[phkrause]

FTC’s rule banning fake online reviews goes into effect

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal rule banning fake online reviews is now in effect.

https://apnews.com/article/ftc-rule-fake-reviews-ban-b7e57e33c1818fa58dd742a921643239?

[phkrause]

Kroger

A federal judge in Oregon blocked Kroger's proposed $25 billion tie-up with Albertsons, halting the largest supermarket merger in history over concerns it could limit competition and harm consumers. The ruling is a major setback for the chains and puts the deal's likelihood in jeopardy. The merger, announced in 2022, sought to combine the fifth- and tenth-largest retailers in the country. The companies own dozens of grocery chains, including Safeway, Vons, Harris Teeter and Fred Meyer. Supermarkets have been losing ground in recent decades to competition, and Kroger and Albertsons wanted to merge to better fight off Walmart and Amazon. Kroger and Albertsons said they were disappointed in the ruling and were reviewing their options to appeal.

[phkrause]

? Fraud spikes

Data: FTC. Map: Alex Fitzpatrick/Axios Americans reported losing over $12.5 billion to various forms of fraud last year, per new FTC data — up a staggering 25% from 2023. Why it matters: The spike suggests fraudsters are outpacing both law enforcement and efforts to educate consumers on how to protect themselves, Axios' Alex Fitzpatrick writes.

[phkrause]

? Dems ignored their secret weapon. Former chief antitrust official and Federal Trade Commission head Lina Khan earned high praise from far-right commentator Steve Bannon this week, who claimed if Democrats had embraced Khan’s antitrust work during the campaign, “they would actually have been more competitive against us in November of 2024.” Last year, former Vice President Kamala Harris refused to defend Khan when wealthy Democratic donors — including executives at firms with open investigations at the FTC — attacked her. The Lever later learned that Khan’s agency had launched a probe into Uber, which employed Harris’s brother-in-law and top campaign adviser. 

• In an interview with David Sirota at the time, Khan said this: “The FTC is focused on delivering for working people and standing up for them against corporate abuse… so I think that’s work that everybody should be able to get behind. Unless you’re one of the monopolies or abusive corporations.”

[phkrause]

Shaming works sometimes. After an outpouring of public comments, the Federal Trade Commission has denied a former oil baron’s request to withdraw a Biden-era order barring him from ExxonMobil’s board. The FTC ruled previously that Scott Sheffield, the founder of Pioneer Natural Resources, could not join the board of ExxonMobil after it acquired Pioneer over concerns about Sheffield’s potential collusion with other producers.

Pricing under fire. In 2024, Biden’s Federal Trade Commission began investigating how personalized pricing led to price-gouging consumers, concluding that fast-moving online marketplaces use people’s data, like their location and past shopping behavior, to individualize the prices that people see in a captured market  — raising alarm bells about potential exploitation. For example, Live Nation/TicketMaster’s use of dynamic pricing has become the source of intense scrutiny as concert fares soar out of control.

[phkrause]

Amazon to pay $2.5 billion to settle FTC allegations it duped customers into enrolling in Prime

Amazon has reached a historic $2.5 billion settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, which said the online retail giant tricked customers into signing up for its Prime memberships and made it difficult for them to cancel after doing so. The company will pay $1 billion in civil penalties — the largest fine in FTC history, and $1.5 billion will be paid to consumers. Read more.