On August 15, 2025, D.C. District Judge Sparkle L. Sooknanan issued a preliminary injunction preventing the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) from implementing or enforcing the Civil Investigative Demand (“CID”) that it had issued to the left-wing watchdog journalism organization, Media Matters for America.[1] Judge Sooknanan warned that “[i]t should alarm all Americans when the Government retaliates against individuals or organizations for engaging in constitutionally
Read More D.C. District Court Blocks FTC Investigation Into Watchdog Journalism Non-Profit, “Media Matters for America”D.C. District Court Finds President Trump’s Firing of FTC Commissioner Illegal
UPDATE: The Trump Administration immediately appealed Judge AliKhan’s order to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. On July 21, 2025, the Court of Appeals entered an administrative stay, thus temporarily blocking Slaughter’s reinstatement to the FTC. In a one page order, the Court of Appeals explained that the purpose of the stay is to “give the court sufficient opportunity
Read More D.C. District Court Finds President Trump’s Firing of FTC Commissioner IllegalFTC’s Click to Cancel Rule Has Been Vacated!
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has recently vacated the Federal Trade Commission’s revised Negative Option Rule, also known as the “Click to Cancel” Rule [hereinafter the “Rule”], on procedural grounds, citing various flaws during the regulation-making process.[1]
We previously reported that the Rule was scheduled to go into effect on July 14. The Eighth Circuit’s decision means that the
Read More FTC’s Click to Cancel Rule Has Been Vacated!Caveat Venditor – The Connecticut General Assembly Has Added Seven New Per Se CUTPA Violations
At the close of the 2025 Connecticut General Assembly’s legislative session, Connecticut lawmakers created seven new per se violations[1] of the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act[2] (“CUTPA”) and granted exclusive authority to the Connecticut Attorney General to enforce the existing CUTPA per se violation under the precipitating emergency statute.[3] One new per se violation became effective on July 1, 2025. Two others
Read More Caveat Venditor – The Connecticut General Assembly Has Added Seven New Per Se CUTPA ViolationsMerger Remedies are Back in Play under Trump 2.0
The Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC”) recent settlement of the Synopsys/Ansys merger and the Department of Justice Antitrust Division’s (“DOJ”) settlement of the Keysight/Spirent merger are signs that, under the new Trump administration, the agencies are interested in putting merger remedies, which had essentially been a non-starter during the Biden administration, back on the table. FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson, who issued a statement in connection with
Read More Merger Remedies are Back in Play under Trump 2.0Settled Yet Uncertain: Final Approval of NCAA NIL Settlement Opens Doors to More Antitrust Challenges
On June 6, U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken approved a proposed settlement agreement [VZ1] between the National Collegiate Athletics Association (“NCAA”), the Power Five Conferences and student athletes, effectively paving the way for name, likeness, and image (“NIL”) compensation for student athletes.[1] The approval comes nearly five years after student athletes filed the class action lawsuit for alleged violations of the Sherman Act related
Read More Settled Yet Uncertain: Final Approval of NCAA NIL Settlement Opens Doors to More Antitrust ChallengesSenior Counsel Robert M. Langer to Present at The Retail Benefits Group’s Annual Conference
On June 23, 2025, Senior Counsel Robert M. Langer will present at The Retail Benefits Group’s Annual Conference in Chicago. He will provide antitrust guidance to representatives of many of the major retailers in the U.S. regarding how to safely share certain information with competitors without running afoul of federal and state antitrust laws. He will also discuss recent significant competition-related initiatives of the United
Read More Senior Counsel Robert M. Langer to Present at The Retail Benefits Group’s Annual ConferenceIntroducing Blog of Reason: Wiggin and Dana’s Antitrust and Consumer Protection Blog
Wiggin and Dana’s Antitrust and Technology Disputes Practice Group is excited to launch Blog of Reason, named for the so-called “rule of reason” under U.S. antitrust law. As followers of antitrust law know, a “rule of reason” analysis is expansive, searching, and nuanced. Blog of Reason aspires to be the same. But our blog’s coverage will be broader than its namesake legal framework, offering
Read More Introducing Blog of Reason: Wiggin and Dana’s Antitrust and Consumer Protection BlogImportant Announcement Regarding the FTC’s Revised Negative Option Rule
As we previously reported, on October 16, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), after receiving thousands of public comments, released the final version of its Negative Option Rule. The Rule is now scheduled to go into effect on July 14, 2025.[1] Any company with automatic renewal subscriptions or memberships will be impacted by the Rule.
The Rule, also known as the “Click-to-Cancel” Rule, will regulate
Read More Important Announcement Regarding the FTC’s Revised Negative Option RuleFederal Judge Allows FTC’s Robinson-Patman Act Suit Against Southern Glazers Wine and Spirits to Continue Beyond Motion to Dismiss Stage
The Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC”) first Robinson-Patman Act (“RPA”) suit in decades has survived a motion to dismiss. The Honorable Fred W. Slaughter in the United States District Court for the Central District of California ruled on the papers that the FTC’s Complaint against Southern Glazers Wine and Spirits, LLC (“Southern”) “sufficiently alleges” a claim that Southern has engaged in price discrimination that injures competition among its customers, a secondary-line discrimination claim, as detailed below.[1]
As we summarized in a prior advisory (available here), two years ago, during the Biden administration’s tenure, the FTC announced its intention to ramp up enforcement of the RPA, a Great Depression era anti-price discrimination law, after decades of non-enforcement. The RPA forbids a seller of goods from engaging in price discrimination between two or more different purchasers. The rationale for the RPA was that preventing such price discrimination would enable smaller companies to compete with larger businesses.Read More Federal Judge Allows FTC’s Robinson-Patman Act Suit Against Southern Glazers Wine and Spirits to Continue Beyond Motion to Dismiss Stage