Open Markets Submits Comments to Federal Trade Commission for Upcoming "Hearings on Competition and Consumer Protection in the 21st Century"

On Monday, August 20, the Open Markets Institute submitted three comments to the Federal Trade Commission for its upcoming "Hearings on Competition and Consumer Protection in the 21st Century."

The first comment, "The Failure and Potential Redemption of Federal Merger Policy," calls for an overhaul of the FTC and DOJ's merger enforcement policy. You can read it here.

The second comment, “How the Federal Trade Commission Can Help—Instead of Hurt— Workers,” argues that the FTC should start tackling the power of employers and stop targeting as anticompetitive workers’ attempts to organize and build power in labor markets. You can read it here.

The third comment, “The Overlooked Vitality of Antitrust Doctrine,” points out that, in a number of areas of antitrust law, the government and other plaintiffs have favorable legal precedents that they can use to bring cases. The comment calls for the FTC to “to use its full suite of legal authorities (under the Sherman, Clayton, and FTC Acts) to challenge anticompetitive mergers and exclusionary conduct and protect and restore fair, competitive markets.” You can read it here.

Last week, the Freedom From Facebook coalition also submitted a comment to the FTC on how it should use its 2011 consent order to tame Facebook's power. You can read that comment here.