U.S.A.:FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION's latest

FTC Announces Agenda for the Third Session of Its Hearings on Competition and Consumer Protection in the 21st Century October 15-17 event at George Mason University will address multi-sided platform businesses, acquisitions of nascent competitors, and antitrust in labor markets The Federal Trade Commission announced the agenda for its Hearings initiative with three full-day sessions, co-sponsored with the Global Antitrust Institute and held at the Antonin Scalia Law School of George Mason University in Arlington, Virginia, on October 15-17, 2018. The three-day event will examine the potential for collusive, exclusionary, and predatory conduct in multi-sided, technology-based platform industries. The sessions will also examine antitrust frameworks for evaluating acquisitions of nascent competitors or occurring in nascent markets, including in the technology and digital marketplace; and the approach to addressing antitrust issues regarding labor markets. A detailed agendais available. The Commission invites public comment on these issues, including the questions listed below. Comments can be submitted electronically no later than December 14, 2018. Multi-Sided Platforms (Oct. 15, 16, and 17): What are the defining characteristics of multi-sided platforms? Is there a way to distinguish between multi-sided and single-sided businesses? Are any adjustments to antitrust analysis necessary to account for any special characteristics of multi-sided businesses? How should the courts and agencies define relevant antitrust markets and measure market power for multi-sided platform businesses? What is the relevance of network effects (direct and indirect) in multi-sided platform markets? How should the courts and agencies evaluate exclusionary conduct by firms competing in multi-sided platform markets, including predatory pricing, vertical restraints, most-favored nation clauses, and actions to undermine rivals who depend on platform infrastructure? Are there unique procompetitive justifications for these types of conduct by firms competing in multi-sided platform markets? What is the relevant legal precedent for evaluating antitrust concerns related to multi-sided platform businesses? Antitrust in Labor Markets (Oct. 16): Is a lack of competition among employers a significant contributor to observed macroeconomic trends in labor markets, such as the declining labor share and/or real wage stagnation? What are other explanations for these trends? How should the agencies approach defining relevant labor markets for purposes of antitrust analysis? What (if any) reliable evidence is available on the existence and effect of employer concentration in properly defined labor markets? Does available evidence suggest a causal relationship between employer concentration and labor market outcomes, such as wage? Does this evidence suggest a change in antitrust enforcement is needed? Should the agencies and courts apply the consumer welfare standard to the analysis of monopsonistic labor markets in which firms are buyers and workers are sellers? How should the agencies and courts resolve cases where evidence suggests output in the product market is likely to increase, but employment and wages are likely to decline, because of reduced competition in a properly defined labor market? Acquisitions of Nascent and Potential Competitors in Digital Technology Markets (Oct. 17): What is the appropriate antitrust framework to evaluate acquisitions of potential or nascent competitors in high-technology markets? Is current antitrust law sufficient to support the development of challenges to these types of acquisitions? How should the antitrust agencies evaluate whether a nascent technology is likely to develop into a competitive threat in dynamic, high-technology markets? What are some pragmatic approaches that the antitrust enforcement agencies could consider for enhancing their evaluation of these types of acquisitions? Additional sessions of the FTC Hearings initiative will be held throughout the fall and early winter. An initial list of sessions and topics follows, and additional sessions and topics will be announced later: October 23-24, 2018 FTC Constitution Center Innovation and Intellectual Property Policy November 6-7, 2018 American University Washington College of Law Privacy, Big Data, and Competition November 13-14, 2018 Howard University School of Law Algorithms, Artificial Intelligence, and Predictive Analytics The FTC Hearings On Competition and Consumer Protection in the 21st Century will accommodate as many attendees as possible; however, admittance will be limited to seating availability. Reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities are available upon request. Request for accommodations should be submitted to Elizabeth Kraszewski via email at ekraszewski@ftc.gov or by phone at (202) 326-3087. Such requests should include a detailed description of the accommodation needed. Please allow at least five days advance notice for accommodation requests; last minute requests will be accepted but may not be possible to accommodate. Hearing #3 On Competition and Consumer Protection in the 21st Century October 15-17, 2018 Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University 3301 Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22201 (Note: This venue is within walking distance of the Virginia Square Metro Station) The Federal Trade Commission develops policy initiatives on issues that affect competition, consumers, and the U.S. economy. Like the FTC on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, read our blogs, and subscribe to press releases for the latest FTC news and resources. Following Public Comment Period, FTC Repeals the Picture Tube Rule The Federal Trade Commission has completed its regulatory review of the Picture Tube Rule and, following a second public comment period announced in March, authorized the publication in the Federal Register of a final rule notice that repeals the Rule, effective 90 days after publication. According to the Commission, the Rule is no longer necessary to prevent deceptive claims regarding the size of television screens or to encourage uniformity and accuracy in their marketing. While the FTC concluded that a trade regulation rule for television screen measurement is no longer necessary, it retains its authority to address future unfair or deceptive practices relating to television screen measurement on a case-by-case basis. The Commission stated that its repeal of the Rule is not intended to preempt the states from regulatory or enforcement actions to prevent deception or unfairness concerning television screen measurement. The Rule (formally, the “Trade Regulation Rule Concerning the Deceptive Advertising as to Sizes of Viewable Pictures Shown by Television Receiving Sets”) was issued in 1966. It requires marketers to base any screen size representation on the horizontal measurement of the actual, viewable picture area unless the marketer properly discloses its alternative method of measurement. As part of its systematic review of all current FTC rules and guides, the FTC sought comments on the Rule in 2017. Based on comments received and prevailing market practices, the Commission proposed to repeal the Rule, and sought additional public comments. Comments received since the FTC proposed repealing the Rule are available on the Commission’s website. The Commission vote repealing the Rule was 4-0-1, with Commissioner Christine Wilson not participating. A notice announcing the repeal will be published in the Federal Register shortly, and will become effective 90 days after publication. (FTC File No. P174200; the staff contact is John Andrew Singer, Bureau of Consumer Protection, 202-326-3234) FTC Team Honored with Service to America Medal Their work returns $586 million to consumers for fraud-induced money transfers through Western Union A team of attorneys and other staff at the Federal Trade Commission today received a prestigious Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal (Sammie) for their public service in negotiating a historic $586 million settlement with Western Union that will provide refunds to hundreds of thousands of consumers who lost money through fraud-induced money transfers. Team leader Karen Dodge, and Joannie Wei, Elizabeth Scott, and Doug McKenney, all in the FTC’s Midwest Region office in Chicago, received the Homeland Security and Law Enforcement Medal, jointly with a team from the Department of Justice. The FTC team obtained a $586 million settlement with Western Union, the largest money transfer company in the world, after an exhaustive investigation revealed that Western Union had facilitated fraud against consumers worldwide through its global money transfer system. Evidence uncovered in the investigation demonstrated that Western Union was aware of and profited from the frauds, but did not stop them, and that the company failed to take corrective action against Western Union agents who were involved in or facilitated fraud-induced money transfers. The settlement was reached in coordination with the Department of Justice, which negotiated a Deferred Prosecution Agreement under which Western Union admitted to criminal violations and agreed to similar relief. Over the past fifteen years, money transfers have become the payment method of choice for scam artists seeking to defraud consumers in the U.S. and abroad. Scammers ask consumers to pay by money transfer because that payment method is fast and makes it extremely difficult for law enforcement to identify and take action against the perpetrators of fraud. The team negotiated a groundbreaking settlement under which Western Union agreed to pay restitution, and also agreed to an injunction that requires the company to implement a comprehensive anti-fraud program. The injunction includes innovative provisions that require Western Union to, among other things, block money transfers sent to any person who has been the subject of a fraud complaint and refund a fraud-induced money transfer if the company failed to comply with certain anti-fraud procedures in processing the transaction. This injunction will prevent hundreds of thousands of additional consumers from losing money through Western Union money transfers in the future. The FTC and DOJ are currently in the process of returning the $586 million to victims. On November 13, 2017, more than 500,000 claim forms were mailed to consumers who had previously reported sending a fraud-induced money transfer through Western Union between January 1, 2004 and January 19, 2017. Consumers who did not receive a claim form also were able to file claims. The claims deadline was May 31, 2018. The Service to America Medals were created in 2002 by the Partnership for Public Service, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization committed to revitalizing federal government service, and the Atlantic Media Company (publisher of Government Executive, National Journal and The Atlantic Monthly). Profiles of the awardees are available at www.ourpublicservice.org. FTC to Hold Workshop Examining Online Event Ticket Sales Agency seeks input in advance of March 2019 workshop The staff of the Federal Trade Commission will examine consumer protection and competition issues related to the online event-ticket marketplace at a public workshop on March 27, 2019. The online event ticket industry has been a frequent topic of consumer and competitor complaints, and FTC staff is seeking public input in advance of the workshop, including possible discussion topics and potential participants. The workshop will feature opening remarks by Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and will bring together a variety of stakeholders, including industry representatives, consumer advocates, trade associations, academics and government officials, to discuss problematic practices in the online event ticket marketplace. The Commission has a strong interest in protecting consumer confidence in the online marketplace. Issues that frequently arise in connection with online event ticket sales include practices that prevent consumers from obtaining tickets, mislead consumers about price or availability, or mislead consumers about the entity from which they are purchasing. The U.S. Government Accountability Office recently issued a report summarizing these issues. The workshop will discuss the current state of the online event ticket marketplace, shed light on industry-wide advertising and pricing issues, and explore ways to address deception beyond traditional law enforcement. Topics this workshop will cover include: Primary market ticketing: Transparency and lack of ticket availability. Ticket bots and the Better Online Ticket Sales Act (BOTS Act). Resale ticket market: Disclosures of pricing, fees, and speculative tickets. Consumer confusion regarding search engine advertisements and websites of resellers versus official primary ticket sellers. FTC staff invites comments from the public on issues related to the online event ticket marketplace, including possible discussion topics. FTC staff will accept submissions through December 5, 2018, electronically at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/onlineeventticketsworkshop or in written form. If you prefer to file your comment on paper, write “Online Event Ticket Workshop” on your comment and on the envelope and mail your comment to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite CC-5610 (Annex B), Washington, DC 20580, or deliver your comment to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Constitution Center, 400 7th Street, SW, 5th Floor, Suite 5610 (Annex B), Washington, DC 20024. FTC staff has set up an email box, tickets@ftc.gov, for suggestions regarding potential workshop participants. The workshop, which is free and open to the public, will be at the Constitution Center, 400 7th St., SW, Washington, DC, and will be webcast live on the FTC’s website. Registration information, an agenda, directions to the Constitution Center building, and a list of speakers will be available in the near future on the event webpage. Advance registration is not required but is strongly encouraged. FTC Testifies before Subcommittee of Senate Committee on the Judiciary Regarding Oversight of Antitrust Enforcement In testimony before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights, the Federal Trade Commission described its enforcement of antitrust laws, its advocacy work, and the public hearings it is hosting on a variety of competition and consumer protection issues. Testifying on behalf of the FTC, Chairman Joseph J. Simons outlined a series of notable victories in stopping anticompetitive mergers and conduct. Since the beginning of FY 2016, the FTC has challenged 55 mergers. Last year alone, according to the testimony, the Commission voted to initiate litigation blocking five mergers. In two of those cases, the parties abandoned the merger after the Commission commenced litigation. In a third, a federal court judge has temporarily blocked the merger pending a full trial. Three other cases remain in litigation. Most of the FTC’s merger enforcement cases are resolved through negotiated settlements that require divestitures and span a wide variety of industries, the testimony states. With respect to horizontal mergers, in the last year, the agency reviewed transactions involving retail gas stations and convenience stores, as well as those involving products such as cement, agricultural chemicals, medical instruments, and pharmaceuticals, and services such as specialty veterinary services and air ambulance services. The Commission has reviewed the vertical merger of Northrup Grumman, a leading provider of missile systems to the Department of Defense, and Orbital ATK, a key supplier of solid rocket motors. The FTC worked closely with the Department of Defense, and the resulting proposed FTC order imposes non-discrimination requirements and a firewall to preserve competition, according to the testimony. As part of the agency’s commitment to efficient merger review, the Bureau of Competition is developing a more robust system of tracking key developments in the merger review process to determine whether reviews are taking longer. Armed with better information, the Bureau will assess what can be done to make the merger review process more efficient and less burdensome while still getting to the right outcome for consumers, the testimony states. For more than 20 years, the FTC has challenged anticompetitive reverse payment agreements in which a brand-name drug firm pays a potential generic rival to give up challenging the branded company’s patent and to refrain from launching a lower-cost generic product. The FTC obtained a landmark $1.2 billion settlement from the maker of sleep disorder drug Provigil. Other manufacturers have agreed to abandon their reverse payment practices. The FTC is currently litigating three other matters involving reverse payment agreements. The agency has challenged anticompetitive conduct by drug manufacturers that seek to maintain a monopoly through sham litigation or repetitive regulatory filings that slow the approval of new drugs. The Commission recently had a major victory when a federal court ruled that AbbVie Inc. used sham litigation to illegally maintain its monopoly over the testosterone replacement drug Androgel. The court ordered $493.7 million in monetary relief to those who were overcharged, the testimony states. The Commission is attentive to health care firms engaging in collusive practices that restrain competition for employees. As the testimony explains, in July, the agency charged three parties—a Texas company that provides therapists to home health agencies, its owner, and the former owner of a competing staffing company—with violating the antitrust laws by agreeing to reduce rates paid to therapists, and by inviting other competitors to join their collusive scheme. The widespread use of technology and data often offer consumer benefits, but may also raise new competition issues, according to the testimony. When appropriate, the Commission will take action to counter the harmful effects of coordinated or unilateral conduct by technology firms. As part of the agency’s commitment to stay current with emerging trends in the dynamic U.S. economy, Chairman Simons announced in June a series of public hearings to consider whether broad-based changes in the economy, evolving business practices, new technologies, and international developments warrant adjustments to competition and consumer protection law, enforcement priorities, and policy. As the testimony notes, the series, titled Hearings on Competition and Consumer Protection in the 21st Century, began last month with sessions at Georgetown Law Center and the FTC’s Constitution Center auditorium. The sessions considered the consumer welfare standard, market competitiveness and enforcement policy, and vertical merger analysis. As the testimony states, with expanding global trade and with companies increasingly operating across national borders, the FTC and Department of Justice often engage with foreign antitrust agencies to ensure close collaboration on cross-border cases and convergence toward sound competition policies and procedures. This year, the agency and the DOJ held high-level bilateral meetings with counterparts from antitrust agencies in China, and last year they updated the Antitrust Guidelines for International Enforcement and Cooperation. The Commission vote approving the testimony and its inclusion in the formal record was 5-0. The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition, and protect and educate consumers. You can learn more about consumer topics and file a consumer complaint online or by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP (382-4357). 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