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.

In today’s digital marketplace, direct sellers rely heavily on electronic agreements to govern their relationships with customers, vendors, and partners. But whether these electronic agreements are enforceable depends, at least in part, on how your policies and other terms are presented to users and the way assent is obtained. Courts scrutinize these issues closely, emphasizing that even minor design choices can make the difference between a binding electronic agreement and an unenforceable set of terms.

Effective September 29, 2025, many thousands of additional non-U.S. entities around the world are now prohibited from receiving U.S. goods, software, and technology under an “affiliates” interim final rule (the IFR) published by the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) at the U.S. Department of Commerce.