The FTC has remained active in both the antitrust and consumer protection spaces. The agency is seeking public comment about federal regulations that could themselves be harming competition in the economy. The Commission also released data and statistics about common text message scams. And, of course, the agency's landmark trial against Meta continues. More information on these stories after the jump.
Monday, April 14, 2025
Bureau of Competition: Policy Planning
- Pursuant to an April 9, 2025 Executive Order 14267, entitled "Reducing Anti-Competitive Regulatory Barriers," the FTC launched a request for public written comments about "how federal regulations can harm competition in the American economy." The request encourages all members of the public, including "consumers, workers, businesses, start-ups, potential market entrants, investors, and academics" to identify particular federal regulations that impose any sort of "anti-competitive restraints or distortions on the operation of the free market." Comments may be posted on the Regulations.gov docket until May 27, 2025. As of this writing, the posting has received 30 comments.
Bureau of Competition: FTC v. Meta
- The FTC's well-publicized trial against Meta Platforms in relation to its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp continues. Before the trial commenced, Crowell & Moring partner Kenneth Dintzer commented to GCR USA that there could be challenges with the FTC's ability to prove market power. The agency has now posted a redacted version of the slide deck used in its opening statement; the 109-slide deck previews numerous witnesses, documents, and arguments. The FTC is also posting all trial exhibits at this link approximately two business days after they are admitted as exhibits.
Wednesday, April 16, 2025
Bureau of Consumer Protection: Text Message Scams
- The Commission released a "Data Spotlight" report outlining the top text message scams of 2024 and related information. Interestingly, while the overall number of reported text scams declined, the amount of money lost to these scams rose to $470 million. In comparison, consumers reported $86 million in losses in 2020. The article explains the most common text scams, including texts about fake package delivery issues, job opportunities, fraud alerts, notices about unpaid tolls, and wrong numbers. The report contains advice for stopping and avoiding text scams, including forwarding the messages to the number 7726, reporting them to the FTC and within the messaging app, refraining from interacting with texts by responding or clicking on links, and applying filters or call-blocking apps.
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