US: FTC needs big improvement to define ‘unfair’ competition methods, says Commissioner Wright
The US Federal Trade Commission’s efforts to define “unfair methods of competition,” as stated in Section 5 of the FTC Act, have been mediocre thus far, according to FTC Commissioner Wright. Wright delivered a speech on Section 5 to the New York Bar Association’s Antitrust Section to discuss the clause, which bestows the task of what constitutes “unfair” business practices. But almost a century after the FTC was founded, the regulator’s efforts to fulfill that task have been “uninspiring if not bleak,” according to Wright. The Commissioner has prioritized the task, however, offering a Policy Statement to clearly define unfair methods of competition based on “modern economics and antitrust jurisprudence.” While the proposal is described as a mere “starting point” to the discussion on Section 5, Wright’s proposal offers an outline to define “unfair” as a business practice that “harms or is likely to harm competition significantly” as well as one that “lacks cognizable efficiencies,” according to the Policy Statement. Going forward, said the Commissioner, the FTC must now focus on clarifying what differentiates acceptable and unfair business practices.
Click here to access Commissioner Wright’s full Policy Statement.
Click here to read Commissioner Wright’s full speech.
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
Uruguayan Antitrust Scrutiny Puts Major Meatpacking Deal Between Marfrig and Minerva on Hold
May 19, 2024 by
CPI
Alaska Airlines Seeks Dismissal of Consumer Lawsuit Over $1.9 Billion Hawaiian Airlines Buy
May 19, 2024 by
CPI
Idaho Attorney General Orders Split of Kootenai Health and Syringa Hospital
May 19, 2024 by
CPI
Court Rejects T-Mobile’s Appeal Bid in Antitrust Case Over Sprint Merger
May 19, 2024 by
CPI
Google Requests Judge, Not Jury, to Decide on Antitrust Case
May 19, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Ecosystems
May 9, 2024 by
CPI
Mapping Antitrust onto Digital Ecosystems
May 9, 2024 by
CPI
Ecosystems and Competition Law: A Law and Political Economy Approach
May 9, 2024 by
CPI
Ecosystem Theories of Harm: What is Beyond the Buzzword?
May 9, 2024 by
CPI
Open Ecosystems: Benefits, Challenges, and Implications for Antitrust
May 9, 2024 by
CPI