Competition Corner
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April 24, 2024
|3 min read
U.S. Antitrust Agencies Seek Tips on Anticompetitive Conduct in the Health Care Space
Health care companies and stakeholders should be prepared for an uptick in antitrust complaints and investigations in the short term, driven by the launch of HealthyCompetition.gov. Despite the anticipated short-term impact, the long-term impact remains uncertain and depends on the sustained engagement and use of the tipline by the public.
March 6, 2024
|4 min read
U.S. Antitrust Agencies Continue to Target Private Equity Involvement in Healthcare
In the latest step in the U.S. antitrust agencies’ heightened enforcement against private equity, the Federal Trade Commission held a Workshop on Private Equity in Health Care yesterday with the U.S. Department of Justice and Department of Health and Human Services.
October 27, 2023
|6 min read
Searching for Safe Harbor: Navigating Information Exchanges Moving Forward
On February 3, 2023, the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it had withdrawn three policy statements that established certain enforcement “safety zones” or safe harbors for the exchange of competitively sensitive information and benchmarking exercises.
June 8, 2023
|3 min read
The GCR Live – Cartels 2023 conference took place on June 7, 2023, in Washington, D.C. The agenda included a keynote address by Manish Kumar, Deputy Assistant Attorney General (DAAG) for Criminal Enforcement at the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, who discussed the Division’s current approach to criminal antitrust enforcement, as well as panels examining cartel enforcement in labor markets, criminal monopolization, and antitrust compliance in a shifting economy.
May 22, 2023
|5 min read
Algorithmic Pricing: A Recipe for Antitrust Disaster?
In the age of big data and artificial intelligence, businesses are increasingly using algorithms to make important business decisions. This trend raises antitrust concerns that companies need to be aware of.
April 28, 2023
|3 min read
Joint Statement on Automated Systems: A Reminder of the Potential Harms of AI
This week, the FTC and DOJ along with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission released a joint statement pledging the agencies’ commitment to enforce their respective laws and regulations and to uphold their commitment to the core principles of fairness, equity, and justice in relation to emerging automated systems.
April 18, 2023
|5 min read
Consumer Data Monetization: The Antitrust Risks You Need to Know
The collection, monetization, analysis, and use of consumer data have become ubiquitous aspects of modern business in the digital age. Companies, big and small, rely on consumer data to develop targeted advertising campaigns, enhance customer experiences, and create innovative products and services. However, the increasing reliance on consumer data also presents significant and growing antitrust risks for companies operating in the digital sphere.
February 7, 2023
|4 min read
The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division announced on Friday, February 3, that it is withdrawing three longstanding policy statements providing guidance concerning its enforcement of the antitrust laws in the health care industry, a move that leaves significant uncertainty in its stead. Although focused on health care, the policy statements have long been relied upon as important guidance for competitor collaborations in other industries, particularly regarding sharing price- or cost-related information and joint purchasing.
February 1, 2023
|4 min read
DOJ Seeks Breakup of Google’s Ad Tech Business
In another example of heightened antitrust enforcement by the Department of Justice (DOJ) under the Biden administration, on January 24, 2023, DOJ and eight states filed a civil antitrust lawsuit accusing Google of monopolizing multiple digital advertising technology (“ad tech”) products. The lawsuit reflects the continued antitrust focus at both the state and federal levels on Google.
January 20, 2023
|3 min read
Federal Court Closes the Book on Publishers’ Attempted Merger
Last year, we previewed the Department of Justice’s antitrust lawsuit seeking to block Penguin Random House’s purchase of its competitor, Simon & Schuster, as a prominent example of the DOJ’s recent increased focus on monopsony theories of competitive harm. After a year of litigation, the case reached resolution in November, when U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (now D.C. Circuit) Judge Florence Pan issued a decision enjoining the merger, determining it would lessen competition in the market to acquire publishing rights and therefore violated Section 7 of the Clayton Act.
December 5, 2022
|8 min read
Antitrust 101: Tacit Collusion
Whether tacit collusion—where firms effectively behave as though they are colluding without any direct communication expressing agreement—should give rise to an antitrust violation has long been a contested issue in the United States, with legal opinions varying and evolving over time.
November 7, 2022
|2 min read
DOJ Secures Guilty Plea for Attempted Monopolization
On October 31, the Department of Justice (DOJ) fulfilled its recent promise to “vigorously enforce Section 2 of the Sherman Act” by securing the first guilty plea in a criminal monopolization case since the 1970s. Nathan Zito, the president of a Montana-based paving and asphalt company, admitted to one count of attempted monopolization of the market for highway crack-sealing services in Montana and Wyoming.
July 28, 2022
|3 min read
Lessons From the International Cartel Workshop
The ABA and IBA hosted the 2022 International Cartel Workshop in Lisbon, Portugal, over three days in late June. The biennial workshop is considered the premier international cartel conference, and was attended by senior members of the private bar and government enforcers from around the world, including several members of Winston’s Antitrust/Competition Group.
July 27, 2022
|2 min read
Another Step Towards Increased Antitrust Enforcement in Labor Markets
In the latest interagency collaboration, the FTC and National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) entered into a memorandum of understanding last week aimed at rooting out practices that harm workers in the gig economy and other labor markets, enhancing enforcement administered by the agencies and promoting interagency collaboration and outreach to protect workers against unfair methods of competition and labor practices.
July 6, 2022
|5 min read
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice, Antitrust Division (DOJ) recently hosted a two-day virtual workshop titled “The Future of Pharmaceuticals: Examining the Analysis of Pharmaceutical Mergers.”
June 22, 2022
|3 min read
On June 8, 2022, the Department of Justice, on behalf of itself and the United States Patent and Trademark Office as well as the National Institute for Standards and Technology, announced that the agencies have concluded that “the best course of action for promoting both competition and innovation in the standards ecosystem” would be to withdraw the agencies’ joint 2019 Policy Statement on Remedies for Standards-Essential Patents Subject to Voluntary F/RAND Commitments.
June 16, 2022
|3 min read
In a recent settlement agreement with JAB Consumer Partners (JAB), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) continued the trend of increased regulatory scrutiny of private equity “roll-up” transactions when it imposed broad prior notice requirements on future acquisitions as a condition to closing JAB’s proposed $1.1 billion acquisition of SAGE Veterinary Partners, LLC (SAGE).
June 10, 2022
|2 min read
Antitrust Division Signals Increased Focus on Private Equity in Health Care
In a recent speech, the Deputy Assistant Attorney General (DAAG) at the Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division stated that DOJ intends to closely examine certain private equity transactions; in particular, those in the health care industry. This speech continues a trend of public statements by top antitrust officials emphasizing enhanced antitrust scrutiny of private equity transactions.
May 26, 2022
|2 min read
Top Antitrust Enforcers Signal Increased Scrutiny of Private Equity
In a recent interview, the head of the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Antitrust Division emphasized DOJ’s intent to examine closely certain private equity transactions.
May 24, 2022
|4 min read
On April 21, 2022, Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter gave a spirited keynote address at the University of Chicago, declaring “that the era of lax enforcement is over, and the new era of vigorous and effective antitrust law enforcement has begun.” These are potentially seminal words coming from the head of the DOJ’s Antitrust Division.