Competition Corner

Yesterday, the Federal Trade Commission announced higher thresholds for premerger filings under the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act as well updated fees to submit an HSR filing. These thresholds increase the minimum value of transactions that must be notified under the HSR Act to $133.9 million. The new thresholds will go into effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register.

China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) recently revised its Provisions on Prohibiting Monopoly Agreements (禁止垄断协议规定) to specify when vertical agreements will be presumed legal under the Chinese Anti-Monopoly Law’s safe harbor provision (the Safe Harbor). This revision, which will take effect on February 1, 2026, provides specific Safe Harbor criteria that distinguish between agreements to fix resale prices or set minimum resale price (i.e., RPM agreements) and all other vertical agreements.

New York recently expanded its algorithmic pricing laws, now requiring retailers to disclose when prices are set with algorithmic software based on consumers’ personal data.The so-called practice of surveillance pricing entails adjusting prices charged for goods and services according to monitored personal data.

Following the August 5, 2024, decision in United States v. Google where the D.C. District Court found Google to be a monopolist, Judge Amit Mehta issued what would end up being the first remedies opinion on September 2, 2025. The decision establishes a six-year framework designed to promote competition in the general search engine market. 

While Google’s strategy eliminated the short-term risk of a potentially volatile jury, it exposed the company to a devastating, long-term issue preclusion risk. This article explains why Google’s bench-trial gamble backfired, and what antitrust defendants can learn from it.

On October 6, 2025, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law S.B. 763, which will comprehensively strengthen the enforcement framework of California’s Cartwright Act. 

With advancements in artificial intelligence, the use of algorithmic software has increased across a variety of industries. So too has scrutiny by antitrust agencies, private plaintiffs, and state and local governments across the country.

The landscape of antitrust enforcement in the United States continues to undergo a significant transformation, as highlighted by recent remarks from leaders at both the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice.

Direct Sellers, time to let out a sigh of relief. On September 5, 2025, the Federal Trade Commission officially dropped its appeal of a federal court’s decision striking down the FTC’s rule banning non-competes.

The July 2025 decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Epic Games v. Google marks a landmark development in the ongoing evolution of antitrust remedies for unilateral conduct in the technology sector. The court’s willingness to affirm not just prohibitory, but also mandatory, forward-looking injunctions—requiring Google to take affirmative steps to open its Android app ecosystem to competition—signals a vigorous approach to restoring competition in digital platforms.

With renewed enforcement of the Robinson-Patman Act against illegal price discrimination looming, direct-selling companies should reassess their pricing models. The FTC has made clear that tiered wholesale pricing, which gives higher-ranked distributors more favorable terms than their lower-ranked counterparts, can create significant legal risks under antitrust laws.

As federal antitrust enforcement continues to evolve, adjust priorities, and in some cases, stall out, states are increasingly enhancing their enforcement focus, resources, and law.

Federal enforcers at the FTC and DOJ Antitrust Division often receive much of the focus for antitrust enforcement, but state enforcers play a key role in the antitrust landscape. 

Colorado recently became the second state, after Washington, to enact the Uniform Antitrust Premerger Notification Act (UAPNA) and establish a general state-level premerger notification requirement. 

The U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division has launched a new Whistleblower Rewards Program offering—for the first time—financial incentives to individuals who “report antitrust crimes and related offenses that harm consumers, taxpayers, and free market competition across industries from healthcare to agriculture.”

Semiconductors are critical components that form the foundation of virtually all modern technologies and industries, including computers, smartphones, consumer electronics, automobiles, and medical devices. Their global importance continues to grow. This blog provides an overview of recent legal developments in the semiconductor markets of Japan and the United States.

This post highlights key aspects of the Japan Freelance Act and compares them with relevant legal frameworks in the United States—particularly in California and New York—as well as in Europe with an aim to help businesses operating globally understand the important legal considerations when working with freelance workers across jurisdictions.

Sofia Arguello attended the 2025 Antitrust in the Americas Conference. The conference explored the latest in competition, data privacy, and consumer protection across the Americas. It featured in-depth panels on the most pressing competition enforcement and policy issues shaping markets in the region, with insights from top government enforcers, corporate counsel, and leading practitioners. 

The California Lawyers Association’s Antitrust and Unfair Competition Law hosted its inaugural In-House Counsel Summit on May 15, 2025, at the Computer History Museum in Menlo Park, California. 

In a marked shift toward competition-focused healthcare policy, the latest Executive Order on drug pricing reflects the Administration’s expanding use of antitrust tools to address high pharmaceutical costs. Framed around the “most-favored-nation” principle, this initiative is more than a pricing measure—it signals a broader regulatory agenda that targets market power and pricing disparities long shielded from traditional enforcement. Here’s what companies across the healthcare sector need to know.