ICLE Comments, FTC's Hearings on Competition and Consumer Protection in the 21st Century

Abstract

In this comment, we primarily address the first question asked by the Commission (“The state of antitrust and consumer protection law and enforcement, and their development, since the Pitofsky hearings”). However, our comments also speak to several other questions. We do so in part through the lens of history, in part through the lens of contemporary economic analysis. In section I, we look at the history and evolution of antitrust policy. In Section II, we consider the continued vitality of the consumer welfare standard. In Section III, we discuss the importance of economically grounded, evidence based antitrust. In Section IV, we address consumer protection issues.