Dentists, data and decedents: The Tipline for 2 November 2018

We have a pile of stories today about antitrust agency enforcement. At the Federal Trade Commission, the trial of three companies accused of boycotting dentists who tried to get a good deal continues, while alumni of the Department of Justice are suggesting it should “run away” from its heir-location case, now that it has gotten a damaging statute of limitations ruling overturned. Over at the FTC’s latest hearing, panellists called for updated, usable vertical merger guidelines. And former FTC commissioner Terrell McSweeny has rejected the usual metaphors about data – that it’s like oil, or sunshine – in favour of a less kosher option.