The Last Hurrah: Lina Khan And The FTC's Final Push For Substantive Antitrust Policy And Enforcement Changes

December has been a busy and banner month for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Following its successful suit to block the proposed Kroger-Albertsons merger, the FTC issued two significant announcements: (1) the withdrawal of the long-standing Antitrust Guidelines for Collaborations Among Competitors (Collaboration Guidelines)¹ and (2) the first price discrimination lawsuit brought by the agency in nearly twenty-five years.²

Withdrawal of the Collaboration Guidelines

On December 11th, the FTC and the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ, collectively the Antitrust Agencies) withdrew the Collaboration Guidelines, which had been in place since 2000 and provided companies the framework by which they could lawfully work with actual and potential competitors to develop procompetitive products and/or services that they may not have been able to offer by themselves.³ The Commission voted 3-2 in favor of the withdrawal with Commissioner Andrew