Category Archives: Antitrust and Anti-Competitive Behavior

Do the Enforcement Choices Match the “America First” Antitrust Rhetoric?

by Bilal Sayyed

Bilal Sayyed (photo courtesy of Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP)

Gail Slater, the Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division, Department of Justice, suggests that the antitrust leadership of both political parties “underenforced our century-old antitrust laws for several decades,” accepting “false economic theories of self-correction” of markets negatively impacted by anticompetitive conduct and dominant firms.  Gail Slater, The Conservative Roots of America First Enforcement (Apr. 28, 2025).  Federal Trade Commission Commissioner Mark Meador recently criticized “the monstrously swollen firms who’ve hollowed out communities, raised prices, distorted labor markets, corrupted the public square, or otherwise degraded quality across [the] economy.” “Antitrust enforcement is,” according to Meador, “one of the most powerful, economy-wide tools available for addressing” a “dehumanization of economic life” associated with “the size and power of the largest companies” that have “ballooned to unprecedented levels.” Mark Meador, Antitrust’s Populist Soul (Sept. 15, 2025). “Big is bad.” Mark Meador, Antitrust Policy for the Conservative (May 1, 2025).

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Federal Trade Commission Enforcement Action Suggests it Will Treat Employee Non-Competes as “Inherently Suspect”

by Bilal Sayyed

Bilal Sayyed (Photo courtesy of Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP)

The rule prohibiting the enforcement and use of employer-employee non-compete agreements (“Rule”) is dead. In September, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC” or “Commission”) “took steps to dismiss its appeals in Ryan LLC v. FTC (5th Cir.) and Properties of the Villages v. FTC (11th Cir.) and to accede to the vacatur of the Non-Compete Clause Rule.” Federal Trade Commission Files to Accede to Vacatur of Non-Compete Clause Rule (Sept. 5, 2025).  The two appellate courts have granted the Commission’s requests for dismissal. Continue reading →

California Restricts Use of Common Pricing Algorithms, Reforms the Pleading Standard for Certain Antitrust Claims, and Increases Penalties

by Eyitayo “Tee” St. Matthew-Daniel, Joshua Hill Jr., Christopher M. Wilson, and Yoosun Koh

Photos of authors.

Eyitayo “Tee” St. Matthew-Daniel, Joshua Hill Jr., Christopher M. Wilson, and Yoosun Koh (Photos courtesy of Paul, Weiss)

On October 6, 2025, California enacted AB 325 and SB 763. These two laws amend the state’s primary antitrust statute, the Cartwright Act, which generally prohibits combinations or agreements between two or more entities in restraint of trade, such as agreements to fix prices or to limit production. These amendments are effective as of January 1, 2026.

Together, AB 325 and SB 763:

  • Add two new Cartwright Act violations related to the use or distribution of “common pricing algorithms.”
  • Lower the pleading standard for Cartwright Act claims.
  • Establish civil penalties for violations of the Cartwright Act and increase maximum criminal penalties.
  • Make remedies and penalties for Cartwright Act violations cumulative.

Below, we provide a high-level overview of the new laws and offer some observations.

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Antitrust Insights from the Administration’s First Six Months

by Ilene Knable Gotts, Nelson O. Fitts, Damian G. Didden, Christina C. Ma, and Emily E. Samra

Left to right: Ilene Knable Gotts, Nelson O. Fitts, Damian G. Didden, Christina C. Ma, and Emily E. Samra (photos courtesy of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz)

As predicted, antitrust merger enforcement under the second Trump Administration exhibits a return to a more restrained approach at both the Federal Trade Commission and the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice.  Most refreshingly, the agencies appear committed to good faith engagement with merging parties.  The FTC lifted its four-year “temporary” suspension of early terminations of the HSR waiting period, and a senior Division official recently stated that the DOJ will “not send ‘scarlet’ letters warning parties that they ‘close at their own risk’”—a practice adopted under the prior administration.  In recent orders, the FTC highlighted the importance of Commission staff and merging parties working together in “good faith” during merger reviews.  In public statements, both the FTC and DOJ have eschewed “turning the HSR review into an extortion racket.” These commitments reflect a welcome return to established patterns of antitrust practice, where proactive engagement with regulators can lead to efficient outcomes for lawful transactions.  

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DOJ Secures First Criminal Conviction in Wage-Fixing Case

by Christopher A. Miller and Nicole Jefferson

Left to right: Christopher A. Miller and Nicole Jefferson (photos courtesy of Miller Shah LLP)

On April 14, 2025, the Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division (“The Division”) secured its first wage-fixing criminal conviction in United States v. Lopez, after a federal jury found that Eduardo “Eddie” Lopez violated Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act (“Section 1”) by engaging in wire fraud and wage fixing. This decision signifies a shift in the DOJ’s approach to antitrust conduct in the labor market toward an expansion of criminal enforcement and deviates from the majority of antitrust litigation, which has largely been civilly prosecuted.  

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Whistleblowers Receive New Pathway for Reporting as DOJ Announces Antitrust Whistleblower Reward Program

by Max Rodriguez and Bianca Beam

Left to right: Max Rodriguez and Bianca Beam (photos courtesy of Law Office of Max Rodriguez PLLC)

As discussed in a prior post,[1] last year the Department of Justice announced new pilot programs for whistleblowers in the following U.S. Attorney’s Offices: the Southern District of New York[2]; Eastern District of New York[3]; Northern District of California[4]; Central District of California[5]; District of New Jersey[6]; District of Columbia[7]; Southern District of Texas[8]; Northern District of Illinois[9]; Southern District of Florida[10]; Eastern District of Virginia[11]; and the Western District of Virginia.[12]

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Staffing Up: Antitrust Regulators Around the World Step up Digital Platform and Technology Enforcement

by Aymeric De Moncuit, Rachel J. Lamorte, Daniel Vowden, Stephen V. Groh, Ora Nwabueze, and Sarah Wilks

Photos of the authors

Top left to right: Aymeric De Moncuit, Rachel J. Lamorte and Daniel Vowden. Bottom left to right: Stephen V. Groh, Ora Nwabueze and Sarah Wilks. (Photos courtesy of Mayer Brown)

At a Glance

In February, the Japan Fair Trade Commission announced that it will hire additional staff to enforce the country’s new Act on Promotion of Competition for Specified Smartphone Software. The Act “aim[s] to foster innovation and expand options for consumers through ensuring a fair and competitive environment in the digital field,” and is a recent example of worldwide competition enforcers’ focus on digital platforms and technology. We consider how enforcers across the world have staffed up to enforce similar legislation.

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European Union, United Kingdom Competition and Markets Authority Impose More Than €549 Million in Fines on Major Car Manufacturers for 15-Year Cartel Involving Vehicle Recycling

by Jonathan J. Rusch

photo of author

Photo courtesy of the author

On April 1, the European Commission (EC) and the United Kingdom Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) simultaneously announced that they had imposed fines collectively totaling more than €549 million against a total of 17 leading car manufacturers and two trade groups, the European Automobiles Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) and the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT), for conducting a more than 15-year cartel pertaining to “end-of-life” vehicle recycling.[1]

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A New FTC Labor Task Force

by Bruce McCulloch, Justin Stewart-Teitelbaum, Nina Frant, Angela Landry, and Emily Abbott

Photos of the authors

Left to right: Bruce McCulloch, Justin Stewart-Teitelbaum, Nina Frant, Angela Landry, and Emily Abbott (photos courtesy of Freshfields)

On February 24, 2025, Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) Chairman Andrew Ferguson announced the creation of a new labor task force. The task force calls for the FTC’s Bureau of Competition, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Bureau of Economics, and Office of Policy Planning (“OPP”) to coordinate to investigate corporate labor practices that affect consumers. The task force was formally created via memorandum on February 26, 2025.

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Trump Administration Signals Strong Approach to Antitrust Enforcement

by Sheila R. Adams James, Ronan P. Harty, Christopher Lynch, Mary K. Marks, Suzanne Munck af Rosenschold, Howard Shelanski, Caroline Ziser Smith, and Jesse Solomon

Top left to right: Sheila R. Adams James, Ronan P. Harty, Christopher Lynch, and Mary K. Marks. Bottom left to right: Suzanne Munck af Rosenschold, Howard Shelanski, Caroline Ziser Smith, and Jesse Solomon. (Photos courtesy of Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP)

As the first month of the Trump administration comes to a close, we provide updates on key developments in Trump 2.0 antitrust enforcement, particularly focused on merger review.  Early hints suggest that the Trump administration may be more measured in moving away from the Biden administration’s aggressive approach on antitrust than many observers initially anticipated.

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