Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan arrives for a House Judiciary Committee oversight hearing on Thursday, July 13, 2023.
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The Big Story
Biden officials float new rules for corporate mergers
Federal antitrust enforcers released a long-anticipated draft of new merger guidelines Wednesday that would significantly change how large companies’ acquisitions are reviewed.
The joint proposal from the Federal Trade Commission(FTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) lays out 13 guidelines for how mergers would be reviewed.
The agencies asked for public comment on the draft that will be open for 60 days.
“Unchecked consolidation threatens the free and fair markets upon which our economy is based,” said Attorney General Merrick Garland in a statement.
“These updated Merger Guidelines respond to modern market realities and will enable the Justice Department to transparently and effectively protect the American people from the damage that anticompetitive mergers cause.”
FTC Chair Lina Khan, a proponent of antitrust reform and vocal critic of the market power of tech giants, said the draft guidelines update enforcement to “reflect the realities of how firms do business in the modern economy.”
Part of the guidelines includes a focus on “platform” companies, urging an update that would allow agencies to “examine competition between platforms, on a platform, or to displace a platform.”
Such an update focused on platforms could be critical in how the agencies take on massive tech companies.
The FTC has faced recent hurdles in cases to block tech company’s acquisitions, including Microsoft’sdeal to merge with Activision Blizzard and Meta’s acquisition of the virtual reality company Within.
Twitter owner Elon Musk pushed back at Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-N.Y.) criticism of the platform’s safety measures with a nod to a popular line from William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.” Twitter Safety claimed Tuesday that over 99 percent of the content users and advertisers see on the social media platform is “healthy,” adding that “the reach of hate speech on Twitter continues to represent an extreme small fraction …
Panic among professors and teachers has turned preparation as they look ahead to a new school year dealing with artificial intelligence. Months removed from the initial shock of ChatGPT and other AI bots quickly infiltrating schools, educators have had an opportunity to reimagine classrooms and homework to fit the new age of technology. The preparation has taught educators two things: AI isn’t yet as smart as they thought, …
Microsoft and Activision Blizzard have extended the deadline for the tech giant’s acquisition of the game developer, Activision Blizzard announced Wednesday. The deadline, which would have been this week, has been pushed to Oct. 18, and the companies are still facing hurdles by U.K. regulators to approve the deal. As part of the extension, there will be a higher termination fee and new commercial arrangements, according …
News we’ve flagged from the intersection of tech and other topics:
Apple testing generative AI tool
Apple is working on artificial intelligence (AI) tools to rival those rolled out by OpenAI and Google, Bloomberg reported.
Call center workers adapt to AI world
The New York Times reported on how the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) tools are impacting workers at call centers.
On Our Radar
Upcoming news themes and events we’re watching:
The House Judiciary Committee’s Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government will hold a hearing about the federal government’s communication with tech platforms featuring testimony from Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Thursday at 9 a.m. ET.
The Federalist Society will host a discussion with Department of Justice Antitrust Chief Jonathan Kanter on new draft merger guidelines at the National Press Club on Thursday at 4 p.m. ET.
The Senate Armed Services Committee will hold a nomination hearing to consider President Biden’s pick to lead the NSA and the U.S. Cyber Command on Thursday at 9 a.m. ET.
In Other News
Branch out with other reads on The Hill:
Netflix’s 2Q subscriber growth surges in a sign that crackdown on password sharing is paying off
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Netflix enjoyed its biggest springtime spurt in subscribers since the early days of the pandemic three years ago, providing the latest sign that a recent crackdown on password sharing and the rollout of a cheaper version of its video streaming service are paying off. The video …
President Biden’s video featuring clips from a Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) speech to tout his legislative accomplishments reached more than … Read more
The Senate is signaling deep skepticism about NASA’s ambitious plans to fetch samples of soil from the red planet, expressing concerns over the … Read more
