Apple of my AI: The Tipline for 18 March 2024
GCR USA - 18 March 2024
It would appear Google is not deterred by the legal fees its partnerships with Apple have accrued. Bloomberg reported this morning that Google is negotiating licences for its Gemini artificial intelligence engine on the iPhone. Also in Tipline, Apple seeks to avert a challenge to its WebKit and another broiler company escapes price-fixing liability.
What is the Federal Trade Commission: The Tipline for 15 March 2024
GCR USA - 15 March 2024
Last night's episode of Jeopardy featured a trustbuster prompt: “In 2021 Lina Khan began serving as chair of this agency, FTC for short”. It's unclear whether the contestant – Troy Meyer of Tampa Bay – is an antitrust news junkie or just benefitted from a generous hint but he answered the $400 question correctly. Also in Tipline, the US agencies write to the US Copyright Office.
The infants aren’t alright: The Tipline for 14 March 2024
GCR USA - 14 March 2024
Infant formula supply chains are plagued by high concentration and complicated regulatory tradeoffs, the Federal Trade Commission has said. In a report issued on Wednesday, the commission said that nutritional aid programmes had created a dominant baby formula manufacturer atop each state. That system expands access, but potentially invites collusion and raises barriers to entry, the FTC said.
Himes for a change: The Tipline for 13 March 2024
GCR USA - 13 March 2024
Administrative law judge D Michael Chappell’s 16 years as the Federal Trade Commission’s lone adjudicator is over. The agency appointed Jay Himes as a second internal judge on Tuesday. Himes already has experience in overseeing remedies and antitrust, which might come in handy. Also in Tipline, a Kroger/Albertsons trial is on the clock and a conference of judges wants to put an end to “judge shopping” once and for all.
Freezer burn: The Tipline for 12 March 2024
GCR USA - 12 March 2024
Shoppers suing to block Kroger/Albertsons have seen their lawsuit relegated to the freezer aisle. A US court in San Francisco said on Monday that it's better to let the case thaw next to the popsicles and peas until the Federal Trade Commission’s bid to stop the $24 billion grocery tie-up is resolved. Also in Tipline, commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter gets a new attorney advisor and Choice Hotels gives up on its hostile takeover plans.
Time Will Crawl: The Tipline for 11 March 2024
GCR USA - 11 March 2024
The confirmation of the Federal Trade Commission’s leadership may count among the least consequential impacts of the Manhattan Project. Senator Josh Hawley’s decision to lift a hold on two Republican nominees coincided with the chamber’s passage of compensation to victims of exposure to radioactive waste. That includes St Louis residents who are still suffering from their city’s production of uranium used to power Robert Oppenheimer’s atomic bombs.
A crude awakening: The Tipline for 8 March 2024
GCR USA - 08 March 2024
It’s never a good sign when enforcers discover the villainous anthropomorphic cartoon rats. The Federal Trade Commission previously required divestitures from EnCap Energy after unearthing company slides with Steven Spielberg’s Pinky and the Brain plotting domination of the Utah oil market. Now EnCap is trying to acquire another Utah-based rival but it needs the FTC’s explicit blessing and it may be pushing its luck with market concentration projections that skirt close to the new merger guidelines. Also in Tipline, President Biden uses the State of the Union to tease antitrust scrutiny of landlords.
Upset the Apple Cart: The Tipline for 7 March 2024
GCR USA - 07 March 2024
Forgive Robert Pepper if he’s not excited about the Digital Markets Act. It’s been 12 years since his name first appeared on the Apple iPhone antitrust litigation and he’s put a generation of lawyer’s children through college since then. But the nation’s most famous antitrust consumer is still fighting for class status. Pepper told the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit this week to deny Apple’s petition for review and keep its monopolisation lawsuit on track for trial in 2026.
Appropriations heist: The Tipline for 6 March 2024
GCR USA - 06 March 2024
President Biden has introduced a new Department of Justice “Strike Force” and no, this is not the one tasked with determining which parts of the Antitrust Division must be cut out. Before the president trumpeted his latest efforts to curb “unfair” prices on Tuesday, the White House told reporters that the administration’s hands are tied by budget caps and compromise: “No one got everything they wanted, obviously.” That didn’t stop Senator Amy Klobuchar from delivering a 25-minute speech last night about the potential upending of the Merger Fee Modernization Act. “Unbeknownst to us, they just took the money and ran,” she said.
Honey, I shrunk the Antitrust Division: The Tipline for 5 March 2024
GCR USA - 05 March 2024
A spending bill released by Congressional leadership on Sunday to fund the Department of Justice’s antitrust division through fiscal year 2024 would appropriate an additional $8 million to the agency. That may sound like a positive for the division, but the White House estimated it would cost an extra $33.5 million to carry over the current level of staffing from fiscal year 2023.