FTC Issues New Policy Statement On "Rigorous Enforcement" Against Unfair Methods Of Competition

One of the longest running controversies in antitrust enforcement policy concerns the breadth of the Federal Trade Commission's authority to define and prohibit "unfair methods of competition" under Section 5 of the FTC Act. In April of this year, the new Commission majority withdrew the brief Statement of Enforcement Principles issued in 2015, asserting that the earlier Statement imposed unwarranted constraints on the Commission's authority and promising new guidance. That guidance was issued last week and portends a significantly more expansive approach to FTC antitrust enforcement on a wide range of conduct, including exclusive contracts, refusals to deal, bundling, price discrimination, and serial acquisitions.