Intelligence

The General Court of the European Union has upheld the European Commission's prohibition of Booking Holdings' acquisition of eTraveli Group, endorsing for the first time a 'reverse leveraging' theory of harm in conglomerate mergers. This landmark judgment establishes that dominant companies can be blocked from acquiring complementary businesses even when the target operates in a market where the acquirer lacks dominance, fundamentally reshaping merger control enforcement in digital and ecosystem-driven mark

How is the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence, particularly algorithmic pricing tools, challenging traditional US antitrust law? This article examines the blurring line between independent business decisions and unlawful coordination among competitors in the era of AI deployment. Legal experts analyze evolving theories of coordinated and unilateral conduct as regulators grapple with new technological realities.

State attorneys general are increasingly pursuing independent antitrust enforcement actions, diverging from federal settlements in high-profile cases like Ticketmaster/Live Nation. This growing tension has sparked public debate between federal and state enforcers over their respective roles, with states asserting their autonomy while federal officials emphasize the need for primacy in matters of national significance.

Democratic state attorneys general are expanding their enforcement reach across antitrust, environmental policy, and healthcare fraud as they perceive gaps in federal oversight. With resource constraints varying widely between states, AGs are coordinating multistate efforts and prioritizing premerger scrutiny, clean energy transitions, and Medicaid fraud investigations. Companies in healthcare, energy, technology, and consumer-facing sectors face heightened state-level regulatory pressure that demands proac

The U.S. Senate has advanced the bipartisan Protect College Sports Act, which would grant the NCAA a limited antitrust exemption while establishing comprehensive federal regulations for intercollegiate athletics. The legislation addresses name, image, and likeness compensation, student-athlete eligibility and transfers, agent conduct, and institutional reporting obligations, marking the closest lawmakers have come to creating national college sports standards.

FTC Commissioner Mark Meador advocates for reinvigorating the agency's standalone Section 5 authority to target unfair methods of competition beyond traditional antitrust violations, arguing this broader mandate represents Congress's original intent for the Commission. His remarks reignite longstanding debates over the scope of FTC enforcement powers and whether the agency should pursue conduct affecting nascent competitors even when it falls outside Sherman or Clayton Act violations.