FTC Enforcement

State of play.

• State AG coalitions are now winning major antitrust cases independently of federal agencies. A bipartisan 33-state coalition secured a jury verdict against Live Nation and Ticketmaster on all Sherman Act counts after DOJ settled mid-trial, and eight states blocked the Nexstar-Tegna merger post-close — establishing that federal clearance no longer ends the antitrust risk calculus .
• Surveillance pricing and algorithmic pricing tools have become the FTC's highest-velocity regulatory front. FTC leadership has told Congress that staff work continues on disclosure requirements for individualized data-driven pricing; the House Oversight Committee has launched a formal investigation; and more than 40 bills across 24 states have been introduced targeting the practice (→ FTC and Congress intensify surveillance pricing crackdown amid state legislative wave).
• The FTC is deploying enforcement across an unusually wide front simultaneously — "Made in USA" sweeps, food-delivery fee rulemaking, MLM earnings claims, timeshare exit fraud, subscription dark patterns, and healthcare competition — all under a two-commissioner quorum (→ Federal and State Regulators Target Grocery Chains, Landlords, MLMs, and Credit Agencies).
• The DOJ's criminal antitrust probe into beef packers and imminent civil suit against egg producers signal that agricultural commodity pricing is now a priority enforcement vector, with the egg theory — coordination through an industry benchmarking service — potentially the most consequential new liability theory in the corpus .
• For counsel advising companies in concentrated industries, consumer-facing platforms, or any business using algorithmic or data-driven pricing, the practical baseline is that federal clearance, settlement, or regulatory approval no longer terminates exposure — state coalitions, private plaintiffs, and a newly energized FTC are all operating independently and simultaneously.

Where things stand.

• Live Nation/Ticketmaster verdict opens structural remedies phase. The 33-state coalition secured a jury finding of unlawful monopolization across primary ticketing, amphitheaters, and concert promotion; the DOJ had already settled mid-trial for $280M plus fee caps and divestiture of 13 amphitheater contracts. Judge Subramanian is overseeing remedies, which could include forced divestiture of Ticketmaster .
• State AGs are blocking transactions that federal regulators cleared. The Nexstar-Tegna injunction — halting a closed $6.2B deal on Clayton Act §7 grounds — is the clearest statement that multistate coalitions will act independently when DOJ and FCC step aside .
• Algorithmic pricing is under simultaneous federal and state scrutiny. The DOJ's RealPage settlement — the first of its type — prohibits use of competitors' nonpublic data for price recommendations and imposes a court monitor; California's AB 325 already bans competitor-data algorithms; and the surveillance pricing investigation is expanding into retail, grocery, hotel, and hospitality (→ FTC and Congress intensify surveillance pricing crackdown amid state legislative wave).
• FTC under Chair Ferguson is operating with two commissioners and a defined priority stack. The FY2026-2030 Strategic Plan identifies unlawful privacy/data security, children's online safety, and Big Tech accountability as the three core vectors; the Senate Commerce oversight hearing confirmed junk fees, dark patterns, subscription traps, and TAKE IT DOWN Act enforcement as near-term operational priorities .
• ROSCA/subscription enrollment standard is hardening. Judge Tigar (N.D. Cal.) denied Uber's motion to dismiss, holding that pre-stored payment credentials cannot substitute for fresh affirmative consent after disclosure at the point of subscription enrollment — a standard that extends to any business using stored payment for auto-enrollment .
• Junk fee class actions and the FTC's fee-disclosure rule are compounding liability. The FTC's Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees (effective May 12, 2025) for tickets and lodging has accelerated mass arbitrations; the agency has now issued an ANPRM targeting food and grocery delivery platforms; and California's SB 478 adds $2,500-per-violation exposure (→ Surge in "Junk Fee" Class Actions Targets Hidden Pricing Practices).
• HSR filing regime has reverted to pre-2025 requirements. The Fifth Circuit vacated the FTC's 2024 HSR overhaul; parties now file under the lighter prior form; Q1 2026 filings are up 14% year-over-year; and the size-of-transaction threshold is $133.9M .
• FTC ad-boycott investigation is in settlement talks. Publicis, WPP, Dentsu, Havas, and Horizon Media are negotiating with the FTC over alleged coordinated ad-spend boycotts of X and other platforms; ad-verification firms and nonprofits including Global Disinformation Index and Media Matters are also implicated .
• Big Tech monopoly litigation continues on multiple fronts. DOJ's Google search and Android cases are in active phases; Aptoide has filed an Android app-store antitrust suit in N.D. Cal.; and the FTC's Zillow/Redfin case over the Insider List Service exit remains pending .
• State AGs are coordinating enforcement across consumer protection and antitrust simultaneously. The most recent State AG Report documents actions against Albertsons/Safeway (deceptive BOGO pricing), Mid-America Apartment Communities (junk fees), CVS Health ($45M PBM settlement), MV Realty (predatory homeowner agreements), and a 23-AG challenge to ESG policies at Fitch, Moody's, and S&P Global (→ Federal and State Regulators Target Grocery Chains, Landlords, MLMs, and Credit Agencies).

Latest developments.

• State AG enforcement wave targets Albertsons/Safeway deceptive BOGO pricing, Mid-America Apartment junk fees, CVS Health PBM practices ($45M settlement), MV Realty predatory homeowner agreements, and LifeWave MLM earnings claims; 23 Republican AGs separately challenge ESG policies at major credit rating agencies (→ Federal and State Regulators Target Grocery Chains, Landlords, MLMs, and Credit Agencies)
• FTC and DOJ letter to Tennessee Supreme Court urges reduction of ABA accreditation reliance, following Texas's elimination and Florida's similar move — the first coordinated federal push to fragment the national legal credentialing framework in 43 years
• State AGs secure two major antitrust wins: Live Nation/Ticketmaster jury verdict and Nexstar-Tegna preliminary injunction blocking a closed transaction — both pursued independently after federal agencies settled or cleared the deals
• FTC data documents $2.1 billion in social media scam losses in 2025, an eightfold increase from 2020, with investment fraud accounting for $1.1 billion; Facebook accounts for the largest share of losses (→ FTC Reports $2.1B Losses from Social Media Scams in 2025)
• Surveillance pricing enforcement accelerates: FTC staff work continues on disclosure requirements; House Oversight Committee launches formal investigation into revenue management algorithms; 40+ state bills introduced in 2026; California AB 2564 would ban the practice outright with $12,500-per-violation penalties (→ FTC and Congress intensify surveillance pricing crackdown amid state legislative wave)
• Fifth Circuit vacates FTC's 2024 HSR Rules, immediately reinstating pre-2025 filing requirements; FTC's appeal remains pending
• UK CMA fines The AA £4.2M in first use of DMCC Act direct fining powers for drip pricing; CMA has launched 14 investigations and issued warning letters to over 100 firms since the Act took effect
• EO 14392 and FTC "Made in USA" enforcement sweep: FTC settled three cases within one month of the executive order, with a record $3.175M penalty against a repeat offender; marketplace verification requirements remain under development
• DOJ-RealPage settlement — first algorithmic pricing enforcement action of its type — prohibits use of competitors' nonpublic data, restricts geographic granularity to state level, and imposes a court monitor; Tunney Act review pending
• DOJ white-collar enforcement pullback documented across general categories, while antitrust enforcement — Live Nation verdict, egg-producer probe, beef-packer criminal investigation — remains selectively intense
• FTC food-delivery ANPRM published April 16, targeting hidden fees on platforms including Grubhub and Instacart; comment period closed May 18

Active questions and open splits.

• Structural remedies for Live Nation. The remedies phase before Judge Subramanian is the live question — whether the state coalition pursues divestiture of Ticketmaster, forced venue divestitures, or relies on the DOJ's existing settlement terms. The answer will define the vertical-integration risk template for other concentrated industries .
• Trade-association price-benchmarking as a coordination mechanism. The DOJ egg theory — that using a shared industry benchmarking service to set prices constitutes Sherman Act coordination — is untested at trial. If sustained, it creates exposure for any industry where competitors share pricing data through a common intermediary, including hospitality, healthcare, and agriculture .
• Surveillance pricing: where is the line between lawful dynamic pricing and unlawful personalized pricing? The FTC's ongoing Section 6(b) study and the House investigation have not yet produced a clear standard; California's AB 2564 would draw the line at individual consumer data, but federal preemption of state rules is unresolved (→ FTC and Congress intensify surveillance pricing crackdown amid state legislative wave).
• Post-close merger unwinding as a state-AG remedy. The Nexstar-Tegna injunction halted a closed transaction — a posture that, if replicated, means deal certainty cannot be achieved through federal clearance alone. Whether other circuits and district courts will follow the Eastern District of California's approach is open .
• ROSCA stored-credential standard across circuits. Judge Tigar's Uber ruling establishes a working standard in N.D. Cal. — fresh affirmative consent required after disclosure, separate from the stored-credential authorization. Whether the Ninth Circuit affirms, and whether other circuits adopt the same analysis, determines the national compliance baseline for subscription businesses .
• ABA accreditation fragmentation and legal market competition. FTC/DOJ pressure on Tennessee follows Texas and Florida — if a third state acts, the uniform national credentialing framework fractures. The downstream effects on bar admission reciprocity, law school economics, and competitive entry into legal services are uncharted .
• FTC ad-boycott settlement terms and First Amendment limits on antitrust enforcement. Several recipients of FTC civil investigative demands have challenged the agency on First Amendment grounds and secured court injunctions. Whether the settlements that emerge include conduct restrictions on advertiser coordination — and whether those restrictions survive constitutional challenge — is unresolved .

What to watch.

• DOJ egg-producer complaint when filed: the specific coordination theory and whether the benchmarking service is named as a co-defendant will determine how broadly the theory travels to other industries.
• Live Nation remedies phase: whether the state coalition moves for structural relief (divestiture) or accepts behavioral remedies, and Judge Subramanian's response.
• Surveillance pricing: whether the FTC moves from Section 6(b) study to formal rulemaking, and whether California AB 2564 or the One Fair Price Act advances — either would force a preemption confrontation.
• DOJ criminal beef-packer investigation: whether charges are filed against Tyson, Cargill, JBS, or National Beef, and whether the criminal theory tracks the civil egg-producer theory.
• Tennessee Supreme Court response to the FTC/DOJ ABA accreditation letter — a third state acting would trigger immediate bar-admission and law school compliance questions.
• FTC negative option rulemaking: post-comment-period next steps following the Eighth Circuit's vacatur of the 2024 Click-to-Cancel rule, and whether the new ANPRM produces a procedurally durable rule.