Free Republic

A federal rule banning fake online reviews is now in effect. The Federal Trade Commission issued the rule in August banning the sale or purchase of online reviews. The rule, which went into effect Monday, allows the agency to seek civil penalties against those who knowingly violate it. “Fake reviews not only waste people’s time and money, but also pollute the marketplace and divert business away from honest competitors,” FTC Chair Lina Khan said about the rule in August. She added that the rule will “protect Americans from getting cheated, put businesses that unlawfully game the system on notice, and...

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is hitting back at the slew of Democratic billionaires calling for a potential Kamala Harris Administration to fire the sitting chair of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)./i> “Let me make this clear, since billionaires have been trying to play footsie with the ticket,” the New York Democrat wrote in a post on X on Wednesday. “Anyone goes near [FTC Chair] Lina Khan and there will be an out and out brawl. And that is a promise.”Her comments came after billionaire investor Mark Cuban criticized Khan during an event on Tuesday, telling Semafor that “If it were me,...

Republican FTC Commissioner Melissa Holyoak published a statement on Thursday expressing concern with Big Tech facilitating content harmful to children, but also warning that the Biden-Harris FTC could take actions that result in the censorship of Americans’ online speech. “How social media companies view and treat users increasingly shapes civic discourse and determines the extent of Americans’ freedoms to participate in the modern public square,” Holyoak said. In 2020, during the Trump administration, the FTC issued orders to nine tech companies — Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, WhatsApp, Snap, Discord, Reddit, Twitter, and Amazon — seeking to examine their data practices and...

Khan’s FTC, which has opposed mergers that would have been waved through by previous FTC chairs, has seen mixed success. But her nomination by President Biden in 2021 was clearly a challenge to longstanding doctrines that allowed mega-corporations, including “Big Tech,” to consolidate power. She went so far as to call them “mob bosses” in a recent interview with TechCrunch. ... Meanwhile, the donors reportedly also expressed a dislike of SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, whose term ends in June 2026.

An interview between Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and CNBC host Joe Kernen boiled over Friday morning, when the two sparred over Vice President Harris’s recent pledge to ban price gouging if elected in November. Harris unveiled her economic plans last week, including the proposed ban, which would give the Federal Trade Commission the ability to investigate companies that increase their prices during periods of higher inflation. “This could be another tool in toolbox,” Warren said of the proposal, before Kernen interrupted. “Senator how would this policy do that,” he asked. Warren replied, “I let you finish your argument, did you...

A federal judge in Texas on Tuesday barred a US Federal Trade Commission rule from taking effect that would ban employers from requiring their workers to sign non-compete agreements. The ban, which had been scheduled to go into effect nationwide on September 4, is now effectively blocked. US District Judge Ada Brown in Dallas said the FTC does not have the authority to ban practices it deems unfair methods of competition by adopting broad rules. “The Court concludes that the FTC lacks statutory authority to promulgate the Non-Compete Rule, and that the Rule is arbitrary and capricious. Thus, the FTC’s...

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), along with two other international consumer protection networks, announced on Thursday the results of a study into the use of “dark patterns” — or manipulative design techniques ... In an analysis of 642 websites and apps offering subscription services, the study found that the majority (nearly 76%) used at least one dark pattern and nearly 67% used more than one. Dark patterns refer to a range of design techniques that can subtly encourage users to take some sort of action or put their privacy at risk. They’re particularly popular among subscription websites and apps...

Today, the Federal Trade Commission issued a final rule to promote competition by banning noncompetes nationwide, protecting the fundamental freedom of workers to change jobs, increasing innovation, and fostering new business formation. “Noncompete clauses keep wages low, suppress new ideas, and rob the American economy of dynamism, including from the more than 8,500 new startups that would be created a year once noncompetes are banned,” said FTC Chair Lina M. Khan. “The FTC’s final rule to ban noncompetes will ensure Americans have the freedom to pursue a new job, start a new business, or bring a new idea to market.”...

Federal regulators on Tuesday enacted a nationwide ban on new noncompete agreements, which keep millions of Americans — from minimum-wage earners to CEOs — from changing jobs within their industries. The Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday afternoon voted 3-to-2 approve the new rule, which will ban noncompetes for all workers when the regulations take effect in 120 days. For senior executives, existing noncompetes can remain in force. For all other employees, existing noncompetes are not enforceable. The FTC heard from thousands of people who said they had been harmed by noncompetes, illustrating how the agreements are "robbing people of their...

A new report from the Federal Trade Commission suggests grocery giants used inflation and supply chain disruptions during the pandemic to drive their profits and keep raising prices. Now, the agency is urging Congress to take a closer look into grocery profits. The data shows food prices in the United States spiked 11% between 2021 and 2022, the largest annual increase in over 40 years. News4JAX asked local consumers about their current spending Friday. “Everything. Everything. Everything that I can think of that I need, you know, it’s expensive,” a consumer said. The prices at the grocery store are high....

“We’re excited to be co-chairing the president’s new Strike Force on Unfair and Illegal Pricing, which builds on the FTC’s far-reaching work to promote competition and tackle unlawful business practices that are inflating costs for Americans,” FTC Chair Lina Khan told reporters on a call Monday.

In October 2022, I shared a big announcement in the retail world: Two massive, U.S. grocery store chains, Kroger and Albertsons, had agreed to merge, in a deal worth nearly $25 billion:CNBC:Rival grocers Kroger and Albertsons on Friday announced plans to team up.The companies said Kroger agreed to buy Albertsons for $34.10 a share in a deal valued at $24.6 billion. Albertsons shares had closed Thursday at $28.63 after surging on reports that a deal was imminent.Kroger is the second-largest grocer by market share in the United States, behind Walmart, and Albertsons is fourth, after Costco. Together, Kroger and Albertsons...

The Federal Trade Commission on Monday announced that it filed a lawsuit to stop Kroger Company’s proposed $24.6 billion acquisition of Albertsons Companies, Inc. over concerns that the merger would create a monopoly. The FTC said that the deal, which is the largest proposed supermarket merger in U.S. history, is "anticompetitive" and will end competition between the two chains, which would lead to higher grocery prices and lower quality products. "Kroger’s acquisition of Albertsons would lead to additional grocery price hikes for everyday goods, further exacerbating the financial strain consumers across the country face today," FTC's Bureau of Competition Director...

Following a recent announcement that Amazon and iRobot have terminated their $1.4 billion merger agreement, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Associate Director for Merger Analysis Nathan Soderstrom released a statement expressing the Biden regulators’ pleasure at the dissolution. “We are pleased that Amazon and iRobot have abandoned their proposed transaction…The Commission’s investigation revealed significant concerns about the transaction’s potential competitive effects,” Soderstrom said in the statement. U.S. federal lawmakers, including Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, previously called on the FTC to block the merger in a joint letter. “iRobot is a powerful market incumbent, and Amazon, given its vast resources, history...

Biden punishing a censor-gone-rogue like Twitter removes all remaining doubt that the First Amendment is under attack by the government.President Joe Biden’s administration repeatedly insists it is not violating the First Amendment in its attempts to control Americans’ speech using Big Tech. The regime’s recent targeting of Elon Musk and Twitter via weaponization of the Federal Trade Commission, however, suggests otherwise. Why else would it punish the social media company as soon as its incoming CEO pledged to roll back censorship on his app?In light of a federal judge’s recent ruling that barred the Biden administration from colluding with Big...

Federal regulators are looking to crack down on fake reviews and other deceptive internet practices. The Federal Trade Commission proposed a new rule Friday that would ban paying for reviews, suppressing honest reviews, selling fake social media engagement and more. Businesses would also be prohibited from running company-controlled websites that claim to be independent, and other deceptive practices like “review hijacking,” which makes reviews for one product appear like they were written for significantly different ones. If the proposed rule is approved, following a 60-day public comment period, violators could face hefty penalties. “Our proposed rule on fake reviews shows...

The Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday sued Amazon, alleging the nation’s dominant online retailer intentionally duped millions of consumers into signing up for its mainstay Prime program and “sabotaged” their attempts to cancel. The agency claims Amazon violated the FTC Act and the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act by using so-called dark patterns, or deceptive design tactics meant to steer users toward a specific choice, to push consumers to enroll in Prime without their consent. “Amazon tricked and trapped people into recurring subscriptions without their consent, not only frustrating users but also costing them significant money,” FTC Chair Lina Khan...

The leftist campaign to force Justice Clarence Thomas from the US Supreme Court let its inner clown out when the executive director of the AstroTurf smear group Fix the Court inadvertently released the names of its donors to a Washington Examiner reporter.Fix the Court has not only been a player in the current attacks on Justice Thomas, but they were also a major participant in the smear campaign directed at Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearing.It all started innocently enough with Washington Examiner reporter Gabe Kaminsky taking a deep dive into the finances of the fake groups trying to...

In separate pleadings, Black Knight and Intercontinental Exchange asked a federal court judge to declare the Federal Trade Commission's structure unconstitutional. The filings, both made on April 25, were in response to the FTC seeking an injunction against their merger in the Federal District Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco. Now, both Black Knight and Intercontinental Exchange, are seeking their own injunctive relief against the FTC. These latest pleadings make similar separation of power arguments that were included in their responses made on March 20 to the FTC's filing for an administrative hearing to quash the...

Corporate America is mobilizing to quash a sweeping FTC proposal that would prevent employers from limiting where their former staffers can work, citing the need to protect trade secrets. In series of letters this week to the FTC, which proposed the restrictions in January, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce asked the agency to stand down or shrink its proposal and questioned the legal authority behind it. Noncompete policies can range from prohibitions of working for a competitor or even working in the same geographic region. And the periods they cover vary, depending on what state courts deem enforceable, from six...