“Congress established the FTC in 1914 to prevent unfair competition and deceptive business practices. This has primarily meant “protecting Americans in their role as consumers,” according to Ferguson. The FTC enforces the Clayton Antitrust Act, which outlawed price discrimination between customers, exclusive dealing, interlocking directorates, and mergers or acquisitions that “substantially reduce competition.”
But Khan was more interested in Americans’ role as producers than consumers. In 2022 she signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the National Labor Relations Board to “protect workers against unfair methods of competition, unfair or deceptive acts or practices, and unfair labor practices,” such as restrictive contract provisions. In August 2023, Khan signed a similar MOU with the Department of Labor recognizing both agencies’ shared commitment to protecting workers from deceptive earnings claims, restrictive noncompete and nondisclosure contracts, and the “impact of labor market concentration.”
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Ferguson’s endorsement of the 2023 joint merger guidelines, along with his hostility to the tech industry and support for enforcing the anti–price discrimination Robinson-Patman Act, all suggest a continuation of Khan’s activist antitrust ideology. The Joint Labor Task Force is yet more evidence.”
“E.V. batteries carry a much heavier burden than their traditional counterparts, powering not just the car’s electronics but also the motor. Slate plans to build its truck with batteries made from nickel, manganese, and cobalt (NMC). NMC batteries were common for many years, but automakers are starting to switch to lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries. Each has benefits, but overall, LFP batteries are cheaper, they charge faster and last longer, and their components are more easily sourced.
Still, Slate plans to use more expensive and less efficient NMC batteries because it’s the only way to qualify for the federal rebate.”
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“The Inflation Reduction Act established very particular sourcing requirements for the E.V. tax credits: By the end of the decade, a vehicle can only qualify for the credit if 100 percent of its battery’s components are “manufactured or assembled in North America” and 80 percent of the battery’s critical minerals are “extracted or processed in the United States or a U.S. free-trade agreement partner or recycled in North America.””
“He has also abandoned the FCC’s posture as an independent regulator in favor of an openly personal embrace of Trump. Though picked by the president, FCC chairs of both parties for years have charted an independent course, launching investigations and passing rules that affect billions of dollars in corporate investment while being careful to operate at a distance from the White House.
No longer: In April, alongside officials at the Justice Department, Carr donned a golden pin featuring Donald Trump’s face. He’s become a familiar presence at Mar-a-Lago, and has flown with the president on Air Force One.
As he picks those norm-busting fights with the mainstream media, Carr is more quietly delivering on big deregulation promises to business interests. These moves are less headline-grabbing, but possibly more transformational.
Carr recently said he wants the FCC to get into the business of online speech, potentially making the commission a major enforcer against the content moderation decisions of the Big Tech platforms like Meta and Google. And despite his stepped-up scrutiny of some legacy networks and shows, he also wants to scale back government restrictions on the owners of individual radio and TV stations.
His tactics are a window into how even relatively stolid, independent Washington agencies are being transformed under the second Trump administration — expanding their remit, rewarding favored players and lending their weight to Trump’s highly personal fights.”
“Google is not a charity; it’s a business. If it cannot generate revenue to make a profit through the combination of its advertising products, user data, and contracts with device manufacturers, it may have to raise prices on products that are presently enjoyed for free by consumers.”
“The commission fined Apple on Tuesday for preventing developers from directly informing users of deals offered outside the App Store, thereby depriving consumers of the benefits of “alternative and cheaper offers.” The commission has ordered the company to remove these restrictions on pain of additional fines. Apple has called the penalty “yet another example of the European Commission unfairly targeting Apple in a series of decisions that are bad for the privacy and security of our users, bad for products, and force us to give away our technology for free,”
On the same day, Meta was fined for offering Facebook and Instagram users a choice between free versions of the apps with personalized advertising and paid ones without advertising—something the commission calls a “pay or consent model.” In a statement, a spokesman for Meta accused the commission of “forcing us to change our business model” said this “effectively imposes a multibillion-dollar tariff on Meta while requiring us to offer an inferior service.””
“After mountain runner Michelino Sunseri ascended and descended Grand Teton in record time last fall, his corporate sponsor, The North Face, heralded his achievement as “an impossible dream—come true.” Then came the nightmare: Federal prosecutors charged Sunseri with a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail for using a trail that the National Park Service described as closed, although it had never bothered to clearly inform the public of that designation.”
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“Canaparo noted other examples gathered by Mike Chase, author of the comical yet accurate book How to Become a Federal Criminal. It is a federal crime, for instance, “to sell a tufted mattress unless you have burned 9 cigarettes on the tufted part of it,” “to submit a design to the Federal Duck Stamp contest if your design does not primarily feature ‘eligible waterfowl,'” and “to sell a small ball across state lines unless it is marked with a warning that says, ‘this toy is a small ball.'”
Getting a handle on this bewildering situation will require more than prosecutorial restraint, a matter of discretion that is subject to change at any time. Canaparo argues that Congress should eliminate “excess federal crimes,” add mens rea (“guilty mind”) requirements to provisions that lack them, and recognize a defense for people who did not realize their conduct was unlawful. As he notes, rampant overcriminalization makes a mockery of the old adage that “ignorance of the law is no excuse.””