Dynamic Antitrust Discussion Series: “FTC Rulemaking Authority: Toward Precautionary Regulations?”

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently lifted many guardrails that channeled its rulemaking authority for broad swaths of the U.S. economy. With an expected increase of rulemaking activity, regulation of competition may increasingly shift from ex-post antitrust enforcement to ex-ante regulatory obligations. Intended to intervene before any harm is caused, these obligations suggest a precautionary approach toward market innovations. How should regulators use the FTC rulemaking authority in today’s rapidly changing markets?

ITIF hosted the eleventh in a series of discussions on “dynamic antitrust,” in which Aurelien Portuese, ITIF’s director of antitrust and innovation policy, sits down with leading scholars and antitrust enforcers in Washington, Brussels, and elsewhere to discuss the path forward in making antitrust a foundation for innovation. Watch the disucssion about the new FTC’s priorities with Professors Daniel Crane and Andrew Gavil.