The Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department’s antitrust division are soliciting public input on ways to “strengthen” enforcement of antitrust law. The agencies’ request for ideas to “strengthen” antitrust enforcement, as opposed to improve or even reform enforcement, shows the agencies have already determined they need to increase antitrust prosecutions.
The solicitation for comments reflects Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Lina Khan’s call for the FTC to develop a “holistic approach” to antitrust. The new guidelines will fulfill Khan’s goals by “increasing attention to how mergers and acquisitions effect labor markets” as well as ensure “agencies are giving adequate attention to the range of business strategies and incentives driving mergers and acquisitions,” and determine whether the agencies need to “focus” on particular types of evidence and design frameworks for assessing market power.
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