Feds are going after AI and Big Tech
Practus attorney John Parks attended the American Bar Association’s 72nd Annual Antitrust Spring Meeting. More than 4K antitrust professionals from around the world gathered in Washington, D. C. Based on what he learned at the meeting, Parks says the Federal Trade Commission under its Chair, Lina Kahn, will focus on AI and Big Tech.
Algorithmic pricing
Specifically, Parks expects the FTC to investigate potential antitrust violations involving algorithmic pricing and other artificial intelligence tools.
Big Tech competition killers
We can expect the FTC to scrutinize what Chair Kahn calls “entrenchment” among Big Tech companies, particularly internet-based products and services that make it very difficult for customers to change providers. The question before antitrust enforcement is how to stimulate competition among search engines for example, when Google Chrome is so dominant.
Non-compete agreements, game still on
Also, in the antitrust enforcers’ crosshairs are no-poach and non-compete agreements. According to panelists from the DOJ, no-poach agreements, under which competitors agree not to hire each other’s employees, constitute illegal market allocations. And despite several recent litigation setbacks, Feds intend to keep pursuing no-poach agreements.
In case you didn’t think the FTC was serious…
John reports that on the heels of the ABA Spring Meeting, the FTC announced its final rule prospectively banning future non-compete agreements and rendering unenforceable most existing ones. The FTC expects the new rule will increase workers’ wages by billions of dollars and will engender a more effective matching of workers and jobs, to the benefit of both workers and the economy generally.
The big takeaway: aggressive & creative antitrust enforcement
The bottom line, according to Parks, is this: “So long as Lina Kahn heads the FTC and Jonathan Kanter serves as Assistant Attorney General for the DOJ’s Antitrust Division, market participants can expect aggressive and creative enforcement of the antitrust laws.”
John Cardinal Parks has over 40 years of experience representing clients in complex commercial litigation matters and creating legal solutions to complex business problems. John has first chair jury and bench trial experience in dozens of cases and has briefed and argued numerous cases to federal and state courts of appeals.
