The new Antitrust FTC and Doj leadership: Politics exchanges

We also have a limited sample, and Ferguson was in the role of the FTC chair for a month, and Gail Slater, Trump’s candidate to lead the Antitrust Doj Division, approaches the end of the confirmation process. That being said, each one begins to give directions on the place where the policies and the priorities of application can change in relation to the exit management to the Antitrust agencies a continuous emphasis on “high technology”, adding censorship as a competitive injury, more predictability to promote the business certainty and an approach to the case, for the case of the case. Here’s what we know so far.

Andrew Ferguson – FTC chair

Andrew Ferguson became the president of the FTC immediately after the inauguration on January 20, 2025. He was able to assume the role without confirmation, because he was already a commissioner confirmed by the Congress in the spring of 2024. Before joining the FTC, Ferguson fulfilled as a general lawyer of Virginia, the chief counselor of McCon. the Senate’s justice committee. He also worked in private practice after working for Judge Karen L. Henderson in the DC circuit and the justice of the US Supreme Court Clarence Thomas.

As a commissioner, Ferguson wrote several powerful dissidents, critic for what he perceived as Overstep by the previous FTC. On February 20, President Ferguson gave a window in his priorities during an interview with Fox Business. From this there were several themes.

• Focus -on high technology, consolidation and censorship. During his interview, President Ferguson was critical for companies with “economic power” that allowed abuses in “social and political ways, as in censorship”. He said he would seek to prevent these conditions and face abuse of such power in the future. Throughout these lines, President Ferguson has expressed his opinions that section 230 of the Communications Deception Law, which offers a certain immunity to online platforms for third-party content, was initially intended to promote national businesses, but it is now used by “or” and “or” When “Big Tech” came in particular, he commented that the Cases Paid FTC will continue and “all the big technology will remain under the microscope”, because the authorities will keep the “Big Tech legs”.
• Emphasis on business certainty – especially in fusion reviews. President Ferguson said that the promotion of a “vibrant and innovative economy” is a priority and sees its part in what it offers clarity and certainty to the business community. In accordance with this statement, Ferguson also issued a Memo for FTC staff On February 18, stating that the common FTC and merger guides issued in 2023 will continue to guide the Agency’s merger analysis. During his interview, he said that the guidelines are not “perfect” and “push the envelope”. However, he wants to take into account any changes and based on future work experience, because guidelines are generally “in accordance with older guidelines” and “jurisprudence” from his point of view. If reviews of the guidelines are needed, he said they will be done in a “transparent iterative review process”, but he will not “give up with the wholesale”.
• Protecting labor but still against non-competitive prohibition of 2024. President Ferguson has reiterated his criticisms of the FTC rule that generally prohibits non-competitive agreements, whose validity remains the subject of disputes in Ryan LLC v. Federal Commerce CommissionNo. 24-10951 (5 Cir. 2 January 2025) and Properties of villages, Inc. v. Federal Commerce CommissionNo. 24-13101 (11 Cir. June 21, 2024). (Many Commentors have opined they expected the administration to drop its defense of the ftc ban. Opposition to the non-compete Rule, Howver, Ferguson Said That the FTC’s Job is, to part, to “protect workers” Because the antitrust laws “Protect Labor. “Favoring the application on a case -by -case basis, Ferguson stressed that it will” focus very intensely on attacking an anti -competitive conduct that hurts the workers of America “and will look for in the industries without any poacle, without lease and agreements that are not competing, which are illegal under the Law Sherman.

Gail Slater – candidate to lead the Antitrust Doj division

Gail Slater is the president’s candidate for the Deputy Prosecutor General of the Antitrust Doj Division. She served as the latest as an economic policy counselor JD Vance, and in the last Trump administration was a counselor in the technological issues for the National Economic Council. Slater worked on FTC for a decade and also worked in the house, including for a commercial association on the Internet. On February 12, 2025, the Senate Judicial Committee organized a hearing on Slater’s nomination, offering a first window in what could involve its approach to Doj.

• Technical Focus – Although current cases could be restricted. As the background suggests, the technology will remain an emphasis on SLATR. She confessed that “she will bring a deep understanding of the technological markets in the department, because the common thread in my activity in my private sector was the technology.” She believes that Antitrust law plays a key role in encouraging economic innovation and freedom. However, she stressed that the application should be a “scalpel” and “require evidence of anti -competitive behavior and injury to consumers.” Regarding the cases of DOJ waiting against major technology companies, it was committed to review the files, but mentioned that “resources are, of course, a very important consideration in antimonopolic disputes and in cases. . . . It is a very complex civil dispute. . . and expensive. “
• AI: Traditional analysis of component concentration but open to several merger remedies, generally. Slater seemed undecided about the impact of the technology on competition, but he was hired to look at “concentration in the stack of technology”. During her testimony, she also mentioned that there is a “critical need to prevent the monopolization of digital markets”, although in another statement, she pointed out that, under her leadership, the division can be more open for settlements in cases of merger, when “efficient and robust structural remedies can be implemented without excessive.”
• Censors as a problem of monopolization and collision. Like President Ferguson, Slater has also reached the potential of application around the censorship. She expressed her concern that in the extremely concentrated markets “the point of view of anyone can be accelerated or suppressed quickly.” However, Slater also suggested that group boicotes can also be tracked; She noted a recent report by the Judicial Committee of the Chamber that describes the alleged facilitation of the national brands of an association (representing about 90% of the internal AD), selectively retaining advertising from certain companies.
• Non-Compes as a potential abuse of monopoly power. Slater said he wants to “depolitize” the damages caused by the agreements that are not competent. She said “This is an increasing concern in many parts of the country. It prevents workers from changing jobs easily, which is particularly problematic on extremely concentrated markets. “

As the US Antitrust landscape evolves under a new leadership, industries should remain on alert on changing priorities and their potential implications.