The purpose of the Federal Trade Commission is to protect the public from unfair or deceptive business practices and unfair methods of competition. Under the direction of Chair Lina Khan, the FTC has replaced its long-term focus on consumer welfare with a “big-is-bad” approach to antitrust enforcement.   

Please join the American Action Forum for a discussion about the future of the FTC and the impacts this change in policy will have on consumers and businesses.  

Key topics: 

• Have policymakers and the courts been receptive to the FTC’s overhaul of antitrust enforcement policy? 
• Will changes to the Merger Guidelines help or hinder effective antitrust enforcement?  
• Are the costs associated with the FTC’s proposed changes to the rules governing the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act justified? 
• Are the FTC’s policy changes representative of an opposition to mergers and acquisitions broadly? 
• Do the sweeping changes implemented at the FTC suggest that substantive and/or procedural reforms may be warranted? If so, what might those reforms be? 

Speakers

Keynote: 

• Christine Wilson, Former FTC Commissioner 

Panelists: 

• Diana Moss, Vice President and Director of Competition Policy, Progressive Policy Institute 
• Tim Muris, Former Chair of the FTC; GMU Foundation Professor, Antonin Scalia Law School; Senior Counsel, Sidley; Visiting Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute   
• Noah Phillips, Former FTC Commissioner; Partner, Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP 

Moderator: 

Rebecca Klar, Technology Policy Reporter, The Hill