Federal Trade Commission
A Cyberattack Illuminates the Shaky State of Student Privacy
The software that many school districts use to track students’ progress can record extremely confidential information on children: “Intellectual disability.” “Emotional Disturbance.” “Homeless.” “Disruptive.” “Defiance.” “Perpetrator.” “Excessive Talking.” “Should attend tutoring.” Now these systems are coming under heightened scrutiny after a recent cyberattack on Illuminate Education, a leading provider of student-tracking software, which affected the […]
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F.T.C. Chair Lina Khan Upends Antitrust Standards by Suing Meta
WASHINGTON — Early in her tenure as chair of the Federal Trade Commission, Lina Khan declared that she would rein in the power of the largest technology companies in a dramatically new way. “We’re trying to be forward looking, anticipating problems and taking fast action,’’ Ms. Khan said in an interview last month. She promised […]
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F.T.C. Sues to Block Meta’s Virtual Reality Deal as It Confronts Big Tech
WASHINGTON — The Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday filed for an injunction to block Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, from buying a virtual reality company called Within, potentially limiting the company’s push into the so-called metaverse and signaling a shift in how the agency is approaching tech deals. The antitrust lawsuit is the […]
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Lina Khan, a Big Tech Critic, Tries Answering Her Own Detractors
I think we’ve seen time and time again that when you have a company that has captured control over a key artery of commerce, that control can be used unlawfully. That was partly what animated the passage of the antitrust laws where Congress recognized that the dominance of the railroads and their control over key […]
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Under Pressure to Act, White House Says It’ll Address Formula Shortage
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration said on Thursday that it was working to address a worsening nationwide shortage of infant formula, announcing efforts to speed manufacturing and increase imports as pressure mounted to respond to a crisis that has desperate parents scouring empty store aisles to feed their children. Officials outlined the plan after President […]
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New F.T.C. Majority Gives Lina Khan a Chance to Push an Aggressive Agenda
WASHINGTON — The confirmation of a third Democrat to the Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday broke a partisan deadlock at the agency. That’s good news for Lina Khan, the agency’s chair and a Democrat. It is also a test. With the F.T.C.’s new Democratic majority — which came with the confirmation of Alvaro Bedoya, who […]
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Washington Commanders Deny Financial Malfeasance in a Letter to FTC
Friedman, through his lawyers, stood by his testimony and said he would answer follow-up questions from any of the government agencies reviewing the team’s activities. “My client is also prepared to defend himself publicly against these baseless allegations if Mr. Snyder permits him to do so,” his lawyers, Lisa Banks and Debra Katz, said, referring […]
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Justice Dept. Sues to Block $13 Billion Deal by UnitedHealth Group
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department on Thursday sued to block a $13 billion acquisition of a health technology company by a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group, in the latest move by the Biden administration to clamp down on corporate consolidation. The agency argued that a deal by UnitedHealth to buy the health tech firm Change Healthcare […]
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A Gene Sequencing Pioneer Battles Over What It Can Buy
Illumina, the leading maker of gene-sequencing machines, is tiny compared with the tech giants of Silicon Valley. But like Google and Facebook, Illumina now finds itself in the cross hairs of antitrust enforcers in the United States and Europe. The company bought Grail, a promising start-up in a related business that does not really exist […]
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