FTCWatch
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June 24, 2025
Khan, ex-FTC officials say they left ‘durable blueprint’ for digital privacy enforcement
Between 2022 and this January, the Federal Trade Commission carried out an unprecedented burst of data protection enforcement, with many of those cases based on the agency’s powers to police “unfair” business practices under the FTC Act.
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June 24, 2025
Walmart to pay $10 million to settle claims over wire fraud
Walmart has agreed to pay $10 million to settle the Federal Trade Commission’s claims that the retail giant let scammers use its in-store money transfer services to defraud hundreds of millions of dollars from consumers.
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June 24, 2025
Legal, regulatory woes could mark new era for influencers
Social media influencers commanding millions of followers descended upon luxury hotels lining the French Riviera last week for Cannes Lions, the ad world’s premier gathering.
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June 24, 2025
Calendar
June 30 — The Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission are holding a joint virtual listening session at 2 p.m. ET on “Anticompetitive Conduct by Pharmaceutical Companies Impeding Generic or Biosimilar Competition.” For more information, go to: https://www.ftc.gov.
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June 24, 2025
Groups urge FTC, state AGs to investigate AI therapy bots
Consumer, labor and privacy organizations have asked the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general to investigate what they allege are unfair and deceptive practices by companies using AI therapy bots.
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June 24, 2025
Portion of I-85 named after former FTC Commissioner Elizabeth Dole
Interstate 85 stretches over 600 miles, including through former Senator Elizabeth Hanford Dole’s native North Carolina.
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June 24, 2025
People
Longtime FTC attorney leaves agency for DLA Piper
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June 24, 2025
Neil Averitt commentary: Where does antitrust fit in Trump’s drug pricing plan?
President Donald Trump has initiated a campaign to fight international price discrimination concerning pharmaceuticals by getting Americans the benefits of most-favored-nation status. The antitrust agencies are helping in this project, but it looks like their role will be limited.
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June 24, 2025
Texas man gets 11 years in prison for transit industry scheme
Carlos Martinez has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for his role in a violent, years-long scheme to monopolize the transmigrante forwarding agency industry in the Los Indios, Texas, border region.
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June 24, 2025
Lawmakers push bill to end FTC’s oversight of horseracing industry
A bipartisan group of lawmakers is trying again to pass a bill to create an interstate compact that would remove much of the Federal Trade Commission’s powers to regulate the horseracing industry.
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June 24, 2025
Safelite hit with federal complaints from auto glass repair shops
The Independent Glass Association — representing over 700 auto glass repair shops — has filed multiple federal complaints against Safelite, including one alleging monopolistic practices, according to the association’s executive director.
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June 24, 2025
Senators propose task force to combat payment scams
Senators Mike Crapo and Mark Warner have introduced bipartisan legislation that would create a task force to combat the growing issue of payment scams.
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June 24, 2025
Payment processor Paddle agrees to industry ban
UK-based Paddle has agreed to a permanent ban from processing payments for tech-support telemarketers as part of a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission.
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June 24, 2025
Ferguson’s DEI antitrust push raises legal, political questions
Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson’s plans to investigate potential anticompetitive coordination over “diversity, equity and inclusion” metrics has raised questions about what such an inquiry and a potential lawsuit over the issue would look like.
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June 24, 2025
On the Shelf: Taft’s thoughts on presidential power
When it came to religion, William Howard Taft was a churchgoing Unitarian. However, when it came to presidential power, he wasn’t a full-fledged proponent of the unitary theory.
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June 24, 2025
Blackstone settles with government over collecting fake debts
Debt collection operation Blackstone Legal has agreed to a permanent ban from the industry as part of a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission.
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June 10, 2025
FTC wants lawmakers to cut budget by $42 million
Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson has done something few agency heads ever do — asked Congress to reduce the agency’s budget.
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June 10, 2025
Privacy Corner: House rules apply for navigating live streams on Twitch, VP says
Since live streams can be a tricky area to moderate, Twitch’s community health team is building the tools to do that in real-time, nudging people, and reminding them of their manners.
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June 10, 2025
People
Antitrust scholar Francis wins top AAI research award
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June 10, 2025
Calendar
June 30 — The Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission are holding a joint virtual listening session at 2 p.m. ET on “Anticompetitive Conduct by Pharmaceutical Companies Impeding Generic or Biosimilar Competition.” For more information, go to: https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2025/06/ftc-doj-host-listening-sessions-lowering-americans-drug-prices-through-competition?utm_source=govdelivery.
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June 10, 2025
‘Attention Economy’ workshop amplifies need to protect children’s safety online
The number of moms with school-aged kids who are serving in the Senate is few, according to Senator Katie Britt, who says the dual role informs her about social media’s perils.
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June 10, 2025
Neil Averitt commentary: Another wave of enforcement for concerts, ticket sales
Say what you will about President Donald Trump, he knows a lot about issues that rile up ordinary people and high on that list is getting ripped off for concert tickets. So he’s directed the federal competition agencies to pay more attention to pricing practices in live entertainment. The agencies responded on May 7 with a call for public suggestions. Where might that lead?
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June 10, 2025
Feds clamp down on student loan debt scammers
The Federal Trade Commission has barred alleged scammers who bilked millions out of student loan borrowers from the debt relief industry.
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June 10, 2025
Employee called out for ethics violation in FTC’s OIG report
The Federal Trade Commission’s Office of Inspector General found an agency employee misused a travel card for unauthorized purchases and violated federal ethics rules as part of a probe, according to its semiannual report to Congress.
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June 10, 2025
Synopsys-Ansys deal conditionally cleared by FTC
Semiconductor company Synopsys’ proposed $35 billion merger with software provider Ansys was conditionally cleared by the Federal Trade Commission through a consent decree.