Antitrust Agency Insights: Developments at the U.S. Antitrust Enforcement Agencies — Second Quarter 2025

Letter From the Editors

Early Consent Decrees Shed Light on Trump Administration’s Approach to Merger Settlements

While the full scope of the antitrust agencies’ enforcement and policy priorities under the new Trump administration is still crystallizing, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC or the Commission) and the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ or DOJ Antitrust) recently marked a noteworthy shift away from the prior administration with their approach to merger remedies. FTC and DOJ Antitrust leadership resisted pre-litigation merger settlements during the Biden administration, choosing to litigate to challenge deals instead of accepting remedies. In contrast, the new Trump administration leadership appears willing to accept divestitures to resolve its competitive concerns, providing an opportunity for merging parties to avoid litigation to get deals done.

Recent Merger Settlements

Since the end of May, both the FTC and DOJ have entered into consent decrees that required divestitures to resolve competitive concerns in a variety of industries:

1. On May 28, 2025, the FTC announced that it will require Synopsys, Inc., a developer and supplier of software used to design semiconductors, and Ansys, Inc., a provider of simulation software tools, which engineers use for testing products, including semiconductors, to divest certain assets to resolve antitrust concerns surrounding their $35 billion merger. Specifically, Synopsys will be required to divest its optical software tools and photonic software tools, and Ansys will be required to divest a power consumption analysis tool. The proposed consent order settles allegations that Synopsys’ acquisition of Ansys is anticompetitive in the markets for (1) optical software tools, (2) photonic software tools for designing and simulating photonic devices, and (3) RTL power consumption analysis tools, where the FTC alleges Synopsys and Ansys directly compete.¹

2. On June 2, 2025, DOJ announced that it will require Keysight Technologies Inc., which manufactures test and measurement equipment and software for electronic systems, to divest Spirent Communications plc’s high-speed ethernet testing, network security testing, and RF channel emulation businesses to resolve antitrust concerns surrounding Keysight and Spirent’s proposed $1.5 billion merger. In a complaint filed concurrently with a proposed settlement in federal district court in Washington, D.C., DOJ alleged that “Keysight and Spirent dominate the markets in the United States for high-speed ethernet testing, network security testing, and RF channel emulators … account[ing] for 85% of the market for high-speed ethernet testing, more than 60% of the market for network security testing, and more than 50% of the market for RF channel emulators.”²

3. On June 17, 2025, DOJ announced that it will require Safran, S.A. and Safran USA Inc. (collectively, Safran), which manufactures a wide range of products for the aviation, space, and defense sectors, to divest its North American actuation business and related assets to resolve antitrust concerns surrounding its proposed $1.8 billion acquisition of Collins Aerospace’s actuation and flight control business from RTX Corporation (formerly Raytheon Technologies). In a complaint filed concurrently with a proposed settlement in federal district court in Washington, D.C., DOJ alleged that the proposed transaction would recombine assets that were divested as part of DOJ’s settlement of United Technologies Corporation’s acquisition of Rockwell Collins in 2018. United Technologies Corporation merged with Raytheon Company in 2020, forming Raytheon Technologies.³

4. On June 26, 2025, the FTC announced that it accepted a proposed consent order requiring Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. (ACT), which operates more than 7,100 convenience stores in the U.S., primarily under the brand Circle K, to divest 35 gas stations to resolve antitrust concerns surrounding its proposed $1.57 billion acquisition of 270 gas stations from grocery store chain Giant Eagle, Inc. The proposed consent order settles FTC allegations that ACT’s acquisition of Giant Eagle’s gas stations would eliminate head-to-head competition across 35 local markets in Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. In addition to the divestiture, and among other requirements, the proposed consent order requires ACT to provide advance notice to the FTC before acquiring any gas stations designated by the FTC as competitively significant in the local markets of the divested gas stations for 10 years.⁴

5. On June 28, 2025, DOJ announced that it reached a settlement with Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) to resolve antitrust concerns surrounding HPE’s proposed $14 billion acquisition of Juniper Networks, a provider of wireless network solutions. The settlement requires HPE to divest its Instant On business, a Wi-Fi network business geared toward small firms, and the merged firm to license what DOJ describes as critical Juniper software to independent competitors. In a complaint filed on January 30, 2025 in federal district court in the Northern District of California, DOJ alleged that HPE and Juniper are the second- and third-largest providers of enterprise-grade wireless networking, or “WLAN,” solutions, and the proposed acquisition would substantially lessen competition in the market for enterprise-grade WLAN solutions in the U.S.⁵

Along with the Synopsys/Ansys consent decree, FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson issued a statement, joined by Commissioners Melissa Holyoak and Mark Meador, explaining and confirming the shift in merger enforcement.⁶ Chairman Ferguson emphasized that the FTC will consider structural remedies when they involve “the sale of a standalone or discrete business, or something very close to it, along with all tangible and intangible assets necessary (1) to make that line of business viable, (2) to give the divestiture buyer the incentive and ability to compete vigorously against the merged firm, and (3) to eliminate to the [] extent possible any ongoing entanglements between the divested business and the merged firm,” and a divestiture buyer that “has the resources and experience necessary to make that standalone business competitive in the market.”⁷

When acknowledging the Keysight/Spirent merger settlement, DOJ Antitrust Deputy Assistant Attorney General Bill Rinner confirmed that, under Antitrust Assistant Attorney General Gail Slater, the division prefers “structural relief and the nuanced protections [it] will impose to ensure their success,” such as “a ‘clean’ divestiture to a ready buyer with strong incentives and the ability to compete.”⁸

Although these viewpoints align with statements in previous administrations regarding what constitutes an appropriate remedy, the acceptance of five remedies in quick succession is marked divergence from the Biden administration in which the antitrust agencies proved largely unwilling to accept a pre-litigation negotiated remedy.

Looking Ahead: What to Expect

We expect the agencies to continue to engage in vigorous, in-depth merger investigations under the new administration. Though, we anticipate that those investigations and any enforcement actions will generally be focused more closely on traditional antitrust theories of harm. Further, the Synopsys/Ansys, Keysight/Spirent, Safran/Collins, ACT/Giant Eagle, and HPE/Juniper merger settlements — the first under the new Trump administration — clearly demonstrate the current administration’s willingness to negotiate structural remedies to resolve competitive concerns and clear transactions.

While both agencies have expressed willingness to consider strong divestiture packages, they appear to continue to remain skeptical of behavioral remedies. Although the FTC and DOJ recently accepted conduct restrictions to resolve merger-related antitrust concerns,⁹ Chairman Ferguson expressly stated that behavioral remedies are “disfavored” and “should be treated with substantial caution,” because “[t]hey are often difficult or impossible for the Commission to enforce effectively and can lock the Commission into the status of a monitor for individual firms.”¹⁰ Similarly, though not as forcefully, DAAG Rinner emphasized the division’s preference for structural remedies, as opposed to behavioral remedies, because of their “record of effectiveness.”¹¹

Additionally, the FTC’s leadership appears willing to move away from the requirement of prior approval provisions in consent decrees, a policy that caused consternation among transacting parties. In 2021, the FTC returned to a practice of requiring parties to obtain prior approval from the FTC before closing any future transaction affecting each relevant market for which a violation was alleged, potentially enabling the FTC to veto future deals. Based on a small sample size, it appears the FTC is willing to accept settlements without a prior approval provision, as the Synopsys/Ansys consent decree did not have such a provision. Although, the FTC recently required advance notice, as opposed to prior approval, of certain future transactions in the ACT/Giant Eagle proposed settlement.¹²

Chairman Ferguson stated that the FTC will publish “in due course” a policy statement on “its understanding of the role of remedies.”¹³ The agencies may jointly issue such a statement, but in recent history, they have tended to issue separate merger remedies guidance.¹⁴ Until such time, the agencies’ current policy positions are best illustrated through their negotiated resolutions, which have focused to date on traditional structural remedies.

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FTC/DOJ Staffing Updates

• Mark Meador Confirmed as FTC Commissioner. On April 10, 2025, Mark Meador was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as an FTC Commissioner. Commissioner Meador was nominated on January 20, 2025, by President Trump to a term that will expire on September 25, 2031. Commissioner Meador most recently worked in private practice and was a former visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation Tech Policy Center. Prior to his time at the Heritage Foundation, Commissioner Meador served as Deputy Chief Counsel for Antitrust and Competition Policy for Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah. Commissioner Meader began his career as an attorney in the FTC’s Bureau of Competition.
  • Read the Press Release

• Assistant Attorney General Gail Slater Appoints Antitrust Division Leadership Team. On May 1, 2025, DOJ Antitrust AAG Gail Slater announced that she appointed Dina Kallay to serve as Deputy AAG for International, Policy and Appellate. Before joining the Antitrust Division, Deputy AAG Kallay was global Head of Competition Law at Ericsson. She joins a leadership team that includes Principal Deputy AAG Roger Alford, a former Notre Dame law professor; Deputy AAGs Mark Hamer, a former Baker McKenzie partner, and Bill Rinner, a former Apollo Global Management attorney, who co-lead civil antitrust enforcement; Deputy AAG Chetan Sanghvi, former NERA senior managing director, who serves as chief economist; and Acting Deputy AAG Omeed Assefi, former Acting AAG, who leads the division’s criminal antitrust program.
  • Read the Press Release

FTC Cases and Proceedings

• FTC Requests Public Comment on EnCap, Verdun, XCL Petition To Modify Order. On March 30, 2025, the FTC requested public comment on a petition to reopen and modify a 2022 final consent order involving Verdun Oil Company II LLC’s (Verdun) acquisition of EP Energy LLC (EP). To settle charges that the acquisition would harm competition for the sale of Uinta Basin waxy crude oil to Salt Lake City refiners, the final consent order required the divestiture of EP’s entire business and assets in Utah and also required Verdun, XCL Resources Holdings, LLC (XCL), and their parent entities, EnCap Energy Capital Fund XI, L.P. and EnCap Investments L.P. (together, EnCap), to obtain prior approval from the FTC before engaging in certain acquisition transactions across several counties in Utah. According to the petition, the prior approval requirement is no longer necessary after EnCap and XCL exited crude oil exploration and production in the Uinta Basin by selling its related assets in 2024.
  • Read the Press Release

• FTC Approves Modification of Enbridge Inc. Final Order. On April 8, 2025, the FTC approved a petition by Enbridge Inc., a pipeline and energy company, to reopen and set aside the Commission’s 2017 final consent order related to Enbridge’s merger with Spectra Energy Corp, a natural gas company, after determining that the requirements of the final consent order are no longer necessary because Enbridge no longer holds any ownership interest in a competing natural gas pipeline.
  • Read the Press Release

• FTC Seeks Public Comment on Petition To Modify Exxon-Pioneer Final Order. On April 11, 2025, the FTC requested public comment regarding a petition filed by Scott Sheffield, the founder and former CEO of Pioneer Natural Resources, requesting that the Commission reopen and set aside a final consent order involving Exxon Mobil Corporation’s acquisition of Pioneer. Among other things, the final consent order, which approved Exxon Mobil’s acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources, prohibits Exxon Mobil from nominating, designating, or appointing Sheffield to its Board of Directors or from having him serve in an advisory capacity in any way to its Board of Directors or management.
  • Read the Press Release

• FTC Seeks Public Comment on Petition To Modify Chevron-Hess Final Order. On April 17, 2025, the FTC requested public comment regarding a petition filed by Chevron and Hess requesting that the Commission reopen and set aside a final consent order involving Chevron’s acquisition of Hess. Among other things, the final consent order prohibits Chevron from nominating, designating, or appointing Hess CEO John B. Hess to the Chevron Board of Directors and from allowing him to serve in an advisory or consulting capacity to, or as a representative of, Chevron or its Board of Directors.
  • Read the Press Release

• Illinois and Minnesota Join FTC Lawsuit Challenging Medical Device Coatings Deal. On April 16, 2025, the FTC filed an amended complaint adding the states of Illinois and Minnesota as co-plaintiffs in its lawsuit challenging private equity company GTCR’s acquisition of medical device coating manufacturer Surmodics. According to the FTC’s complaint, the transaction would enable GTCR to control more than half the market for outsourced hydrophilic coatings, which are applied to medical devices such as catheters and guidewires. The FTC alleges that Surmodics is the largest provider of these coatings and GTCR already owns a majority stake in Biocoat, Inc., which is the second-largest provider.
  • Read the Press Release

• FTC Approves Final Order With Welsh Carson. On May 20, 2025, the FTC finalized a consent order with Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe, a private equity firm, and its affiliates (collectively, Welsh Carson) that resolves a potential administrative antitrust case against Welsh Carson and settles charges that alleged Welsh Carson, through its portfolio company U.S. Anesthesia Partners (USAP), engaged in anticompetitive acquisitions to suppress competition and drive up prices for anesthesiology services in Texas. The final consent order requires Welsh Carson to limit its involvement with USAP and notify the FTC of specified future acquisitions and investments in anesthesia and other hospital-based physician practices.
  • Read the Press Release

• FTC Renews Challenge to More Than 200 Allegedly Improper Patent Listings. On May 21, 2025, the FTC renewed challenges against dozens of device patents that it claims (1) are improperly listed, (2) shield brand-name asthma, diabetes, epinephrine autoinjector, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) drugs from prompt generic competition, and therefore (3) keep drug prices artificially high. Specifically, the FTC sent warning letters to five pharmaceutical manufacturers, as well as notified the U.S. FDA that it disputes the appropriateness of more than 200 patent listings in FDA’s Orange Book across 17 different brand-name products. The FTC previously challenged the accuracy or relevance of these patent listings via warning letters to companies and by notifying the FDA in November 2023 and April 2024.
  • Read the Press Release
  • Read the May 2025 Warning Letters

• FTC Dismisses Lawsuit Against PepsiCo. On May 22, 2025, the FTC voted to dismiss without prejudice a Robinson-Patman Act (RPA) lawsuit against Pepsi that it filed in federal district court in the Southern District of New York. Filed on January 23, 2025, the complaint alleged that Pepsi violated Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act, which prohibits unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts in commerce, and RPA Sections 2(d) and 2(e), which prohibit engaging in price discrimination by providing side payments, such as advertising and promotional allowances or services and facilities, to favored customers.
  • Read the Press Release
  • Read Chairman Ferguson’s Statement
  • Read Commissioner Meador’s Statement
  • Read Our June 2025 Advisory

• FTC To Require Synopsys and Ansys To Divest Assets to Proceed With Merger. On May 28, 2025, the FTC announced that it will require Synopsys, Inc., a developer and supplier of software used to design semiconductors, and Ansys, Inc., a provider of simulation software tools which engineers use for testing products, including semiconductors, to divest certain assets to resolve antitrust concerns surrounding their $35 billion merger. Specifically, Synopsys will be required to divest its optical software tools and photonic software tools, and Ansys will be required to divest a power consumption analysis tool. Both Synopsys and Ansys plan to divest these assets to Keysight Technologies, Inc. The proposed consent order settles allegations that Synopsys’ acquisition of Ansys is anticompetitive in the markets for (1) optical software tools, (2) photonic software tools for designing and simulating photonic devices, and (3) RTL power consumption analysis tools, where the FTC alleges Synopsys and Ansys directly compete.
  • Read the Press Release
  • Read the Proposed Consent Order
  • Read Chairman Ferguson’s Statement

• FTC Prevents Anticompetitive Coordination in Global Advertising Merger. On June 23, 2025, the FTC announced that it accepted a proposed consent order imposing restrictions on Omnicom Group Inc., a media buying advertising agency, preventing it from engaging in collusion or coordination to direct advertising away from media publishers based on the publishers’ political or ideological viewpoints to resolve antitrust concerns related to Omnicom’s $13.5 billion acquisition of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (IPG). Specifically, the FTC alleged that Omnicom’s acquisition of IPG threatened to further consolidate the U.S. media buying services market and risked eroding competition by increasing media buying coordination among the remaining advertising agencies, which allegedly have a history of engaging in coordination.
  • Read the Press Release
  • Read Chairman Ferguson’s Statement

• Statement on the Grant of Early Termination of the FTC’s Investigation of the Proposed Acquisition of Kellanova by Mars. On June 25, 2025, the FTC announced that it closed its investigation of the proposed acquisition of Kellanova, which owns legacy Kellogg brands, including snacks, crackers, and frozen breakfasts, by Mars, Incorporated, which manufacturers pet care, snacking, and food products. The FTC determined after nearly a yearlong investigation that the transaction does not meet the standard for an anticompetitive merger set by Section 7 of the Clayton Act, while noting that the parties sell different products in Europe and face different competitors there. Daniel Guarnera, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition, stated that “[t]he Trump-Vance FTC takes an America First approach to antitrust enforcement. Our job is to protect competition and consumers in the United States. Our job is to determine whether there is a violation of American law that we can prove in court. And once we’ve concluded there is not, our job is to get out of the way.”
  • Read the Press Release

• FTC Takes Action To Prevent Anticompetitive Effects of Retail Gas Station Deal: Proposed FTC Order Requires Alimentation Couche-Tard To Divest 35 Retail Fuel Outlets. On June 26, 2025, the FTC announced that it accepted a proposed consent order requiring Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. (ACT), which operates more than 7,100 convenience stores in the U.S., primarily under the brand Circle K, to divest 35 gas stations to resolve antitrust concerns surrounding its proposed $1.57 billion acquisition of 270 gas stations from grocery store chain Giant Eagle, Inc. The 35 gas stations are expected to be acquired by Majors Management, LLC, which the FTC describes as an experienced operator of retail fuel outlets. The proposed consent order settles FTC allegations that ACT’s acquisition of Giant Eagle’s gas stations would eliminate head-to-head competition across 35 local markets in Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. In addition to the divestiture, and among other requirements, the proposed consent order requires ACT to provide advance notice to the FTC before acquiring any gas stations designated by the FTC as competitively significant in the local markets of the divested gas stations for 10 years.
  • Read the Press Release
  • Read Commissioner Meador’s Statement

DOJ Case and Proceedings

• Former Military Contractor Pleads Guilty for Deleting Text Messages in Antitrust Division Investigation. On April 1, 2025, David Cruz, a former employee of a contractor that provided operation and maintenance services to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, pleaded guilty to destruction of records in a federal investigation. Mr. Cruz is alleged to have deleted text messages he exchanged with two individuals who were separately charged with fraud and conspiring to rig bids and fix prices on millions of dollars in maintenance and repair subcontracting work provided to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers after he received a litigation hold notice from his employer requiring him not to destroy or delete communications.
  • Read the Press Release

• Jury Convicts Home Health Agency Executive of Fixing Wages and Fraudulently Concealing Criminal Investigation. On April 14, 2025, a federal jury convicted Eduardo “Eddie” Lopez of Las Vegas, Nevada for participating in a three-year conspiracy to fix the wages for home healthcare nurses in Las Vegas and for fraudulently failing to disclose the criminal antitrust investigation during the sale of his home healthcare staffing company.
  • Read the Press Release

• Former President of Asphalt Paving Company Receives Prison Sentence for Bid Rigging. On April 16, 2025, Timothy Baugher, former president of Asphalt Specialists LLC, was sentenced to six months in prison and a $20,000 fine after having pleaded guilty for his role in a conspiracy to rig bids for asphalt paving services contracts in Michigan.
  • Read the Press Release

• Former President of Asphalt Paving Company Sentenced to Prison for Bid Rigging. On May 22, 2025, Daniel Israel, former president of Asphalt Specialists LLC, was sentenced to six months in prison and a $500,000 fine after having pleaded guilty for his role in a conspiracy to rig bids for asphalt paving services contracts in Michigan.
  • Read the Press Release

• Justice Department Requires Keysight To Divest Assets To Proceed With Spirent Acquisition. On June 2, 2025, DOJ announced that it will require Keysight Technologies Inc., which manufactures test and measurement equipment and software for electronic systems, to divest Spirent Communications plc’s high-speed ethernet testing, network security testing, and RF channel emulation businesses to VIAVI Solutions to resolve antitrust concerns surrounding Keysight and Spirent’s proposed $1.5 billion merger. In a complaint filed concurrently with a proposed settlement in federal district court in Washington, D.C., DOJ alleges that “Keysight and Spirent dominate the markets in the United States for high-speed ethernet testing, network security testing, and RF channel emulators … account[ing] for 85% of the market for high-speed ethernet testing, more than 60% of the market for network security testing, and more than 50% of the market for RF channel emulators.”
  • Read the Press Release
  • Read the Proposed Final Judgment

• Former Owner of Fuel Truck Supply Company Sentenced To Prison for Bid Rigging and Conspiracy To Monopolize. On June 6, 2025, Ike Tomlinson, the former owner of fuel truck supply companies, was sentenced to 12 months in prison and a $20,000 fine after having pleaded guilty for his leadership role in conspiracies to monopolize, rig bids, and allocate territories for fuel truck contracts related to the U.S. Forest Service’s efforts to battle wildfires in Idaho and the mountain west.
  • Read the Press Release

• Justice Department Requires Safran To Divest Assets To Proceed With Acquisition of Raytheon Assets. On June 17, 2025, DOJ announced that it will require Safran, S.A. and Safran USA Inc. (collectively, Safran), which manufactures a wide range of products for the aviation, space, and defense sectors, to divest its North American actuation business and related assets to resolve antitrust concerns surrounding its proposed $1.8 billion acquisition of Collins Aerospace’s actuation and flight control business from RTX Corporation (formerly Raytheon Technologies). In a complaint filed concurrently with a proposed settlement in federal district court in Washington, D.C., DOJ alleged that the proposed transaction would recombine assets that were divested as part of DOJ’s settlement of United Technologies Corporation’s acquisition of Rockwell Collins in 2018. United Technologies Corporation merged with Raytheon Company in 2020, forming Raytheon Technologies.
  • Read the Press Release
  • Read the Proposed Final Judgment

• Former Vice President of Asphalt Paving Company Incarcerated for Bid Rigging. On June 25, 2025, Bruce Israel, former vice president of Asphalt Specialists LLC, was sentenced to six months in prison and a $500,000 fine after having pleaded guilty for his role in a conspiracy to rig bids for asphalt paving services contracts in Michigan.
  • Read the Press Release
• Second Owner of Fuel Truck Supply Company Incarcerated for Bid Rigging, Market Allocation, and Wire Fraud Conspiracies. On June 26, 2025, Kris Bird, the former owner of a fuel truck supply company, was sentenced to three months in prison and a $24,000 fine after having pleaded guilty for his role in conspiracies to rig bids, allocate territories, and commit wire fraud. The conspiracies related to contracts to provide fuel trucks to assist the U.S. Forest Service’s efforts to battle wildfires in Idaho and the mountain west. Further, Bird was ordered to forfeit to the federal government $1,542,387 as proceeds of his wire fraud offenses.
  • Read the Press Release

• Justice Department Requires Divestitures and Licensing Commitments in HPE’s Acquisition of Juniper Networks. On June 28, 2025, DOJ announced that it reached a settlement with Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) to resolve antitrust concerns surrounding HPE’s proposed $14 billion acquisition of Juniper Networks, a provider of wireless network solutions. The settlement requires HPE to divest its Instant On business, a Wi-Fi network business geared toward small firms, to a DOJ-approved buyer within 180 days and the merged firm to license what DOJ describes as critical Juniper software to independent competitors. In a complaint filed on January 30, 2025 in federal district court in the Northern District of California, DOJ alleged that HPE and Juniper are the second- and third-largest providers of enterprise-grade wireless networking, or “WLAN,” solutions, and that the proposed acquisition would substantially lessen competition in the market for enterprise-grade WLAN solutions in the U.S.
  • Read the Press Release

• U.S. Federal Court Denies Apple Motion To Dismiss Monopolization Lawsuit. On June 30, 2025, a judge in federal district court in New Jersey denied Apple’s motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim in a lawsuit filed by DOJ and 20 states on June 11, 2024, alleging that Apple has monopolized or attempted to monopolize smartphone markets. Specifically, plaintiffs allege that Apple illegally maintains a monopoly over smartphones by, among other things, (1) blocking innovative super apps (i.e., apps with broad functionality that would make it easier for consumers to switch between competing smartphone platforms), (2) suppressing mobile cloud streaming services, (3) excluding cross-platform messaging apps, (4) diminishing the functionality of non-apple smartwatches, and (5) limiting third party digital wallets. In finding for the plaintiffs, the court found, among other things, that (i) they adequately alleged a U.S. market for both smartphones and performance smartphones, (ii) the geographic market is appropriately limited to the U.S., (iii) Apple’s alleged market shares of 65% and 70% in the smartphone and performance smartphone markets, respectively, are sufficient to allege that it maintains a “dominant share” in each market, and (iv) plaintiffs established a prima facie case as to willful maintenance of monopoly power, in part because the refusal to deal doctrine does not apply here as Apple is not alleged to have refused to deal with its smartphone rivals, but rather to be imposing restrictions on developers and smartphone users.
  • Read the Motion to Dismiss Opinion
  • Read the 2024 Press Release

FTC Policy

• FTC Launches Public Inquiry Into Anti-Competitive Regulations. On April 14, 2025, the FTC announced the launch of a public inquiry into the impact of federal regulations on competition in response to President Trump’s Executive Order 14267, Reducing Anti-Competitive Regulatory Barriers. Specifically, the FTC issued a request for information inviting the public to comment on how federal regulations can harm competition.
  • Read the Press Release
  • Read the President’s Executive Order
  • Read the Request for Information

DOJ Policy

• Readout: Justice Department Hosts Roundtables To Address Competition Issues in the Entertainment Industry and Unfair Practices in the Labor Market. On April 4, 2025, DOJ hosted two roundtables to meet with key stakeholders and market participants to discuss competition issues in the entertainment industry and identify harmful labor market conduct and how such conduct impacts workers.
  • Read the Press Release

Interagency Initiatives 

• FTC and DOJ Issue Letter Seeking Identification of Anticompetitive Regulations Across the Federal Government. On May 5, 2025, the FTC and DOJ issued a joint letter directing the heads of agencies across the federal government to create a list of anticompetitive regulations that reduce competition, entrepreneurship, and innovation. Specifically, FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson and DOJ Antitrust AAG Gail Slater issued the letter, the stated purpose of which is to advance President Trump’s Executive Order 14267, Reducing Anti-Competitive Regulatory Barriers. This joint initiative follows the FTC’s April 14, 2025 announcement that it launched a public inquiry into the impact of federal regulations on competition.
  • Read the FTC’s Press Release
  • Read the President’s Executive Order

• Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission Seek Information on Unfair and Anticompetitive Practices in Live Ticketing. On May 7, 2025, DOJ and the FTC launched a public inquiry to identify unfair and anticompetitive practices and conduct in the live concert and entertainment industry. Specifically, the agencies invited members of the public to submit comments and information on harmful practices and potential regulation or legislation to protect consumers. The agencies plan to use the information collected in response to the public inquiry in their preparation of the report and recommendations prescribed by President Trump’s Executive Order 14254, Combating Unfair Practices in the Live Entertainment Market.
  • Read the DOJ’s Press Release
  • Read the President’s Executive Order

• FTC and DOJ File Statement of Interest in Energy Collusion Case Against BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard. On May 22, 2025, the FTC and DOJ filed a Statement of Interest in the Texas-led lawsuit against asset managers BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard, which alleges that the asset managers acquired substantial stockholdings in every significant publicly held coal producer in the U.S. to influence the policies of these companies to reduce coal production. Citing President Trump’s Executive Order 14,156, Declaring a National Energy Emergency, the statement takes aim at what it describes as “the coordinated use of the power of horizontal shareholdings to distort output and prices in energy markets,” while arguing that shareholder advocacy can eliminate eligibility for the “solely for investment” exception to Section 7 of the Clayton Act.
  • Read the FTC’s Press Release
  • Read the DOJ’s Press Release
  • Read the Statement of Interest
  • Read the President’s Executive Order
  • Read Our May 2025 Advisory

FTC Speeches

• FTC Commissioner Mark R. Meador Before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights: “Deregulation & Competition: Reducing Regulatory Burdens to Unlock Innovation and Spur New Entry.” On June 24, 2025, FTC Commissioner Mark R. Meador appeared before the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights as part of the subcommittee’s hearings on “Deregulation & Competition: Reducing Regulatory Burdens to Unlock Innovation and Spur New Entry.” Commissioner Meador argued that enforcement, as opposed to regulation, is the best way to curb anticompetitive behavior, as regulation favors dominant firms, especially in the tech industry, by entrenching their monopolies and disfavoring smaller firms who may not be able to afford “to keep up with intricate regulatory schemes.” Specifically, Commissioner Meador emphasized that comments in response to the FTC’s public inquiry into the impact of federal regulations on competition in response to President Trump’s Executive Order 14267, Reducing Anti-Competitive Regulatory Barriers, have shown that “incumbents [across several industry sectors] have proven adept in pushing for and using regulations to evade competition.” Instead of regulation, Commissioner Meador testified that “[t]he answer is twofold: targeted consumer protection enforcement when companies harm consumers directly, and targeted antitrust enforcement in the event companies behave anticompetitively.”
  • Read the Prepared Statement

DOJ Speeches

• Assistant Attorney General Gail Slater Delivers First Antitrust Address at University of Notre Dame Law School. On April 28, 2025, DOJ Antitrust AAG Gail Slater delivered a speech entitled, “The Conservative Roots of America First Antitrust Enforcement,” in her first formal public address since she assumed the role of AAG in March 2025. In her own words, AAG Slater “present[ed] the conservative case for vigorous antitrust enforcement.” Specifically, AAG Slater emphasized that she will (1) prioritize enforcement against “ill-gotten” and “coercive” monopolies; (2) be guided by the principles of textualism, originalism, and adherence to precedent; and (3) prioritize “deregulation that will unleash innovation.”
  • Read the Press Release

• DAAG Bill Rinner Delivers Remarks to the George Washington University Competition and Innovation Lab Conference Regarding Merger Review and Enforcement. On June 4, 2025, DOJ Antitrust Deputy Assistant Attorney General Bill Rinner delivered remarks to the George Washington University Competition and Innovation Lab Conference, focused on how DOJ will handle merger review under Antitrust Assistant Attorney General Gail Slater. DAAG Rinner emphasized that the division will focus on providing “procedural predictability and fairness in merger review and enforcement,” as well as DOJ’s “longstanding preference for structural remedies.” Specifically, he stated that the division will work to “remove unlawful transactions (or their unlawful aspects) without nicking neutral deals or wounding procompetitive ones,” and for those merges that do give rise to competitive concerns, “remedies may be available that adequately mitigate potential harm.” DAAG Rinner stated that the division will not do the following: (1) send “scarlet” letters warning parties that they “close at their own risk,” (2) leverage the threat of law enforcement to accomplish policy objectives that are clearly beyond the law, and (3) issue spurious second requests simply to build a civil or criminal conduct investigation. And he emphasized that the division will do the following: (1) vigorously enforce the law if there is a violation, while being “transparent with parties about where we have concerns so that they can focus their advocacy on addressing those concerns” and (2) enforce and prosecute procedural deficiencies that are important to its investigatory authority, such as seeking judicial sanctions for withholding or altering documents required by the HSR Act.
  • Read DAAG Rinner’s Speech

• DOJ Antitrust Deputy Assistant Attorney General Roger Alford Before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights: “Deregulation & Competition: Reducing Regulatory Burdens to Unlock Innovation and Spur New Entry.” On June 24, 2025, DOJ Antitrust Deputy Assistant Attorney General Roger Alford appeared before the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights as part of the subcommittee’s hearings on “Deregulation & Competition: Reducing Regulatory Burdens to Unlock Innovation and Spur New Entry.” DAAG Alford emphasized that under the leadership of Antitrust Assistant Attorney General Gail Slater, the division is “committed to vigorous antitrust enforcement based on conservative principles of individual liberty, free markets, respect for the precedent, and strong support for deregulation.” DAAG Alford argued for enforcement instead of regulation, as regulation has become a “powerful exclusionary tool” that favors “powerful firms” by allowing such firms “to raise barriers to entry and build moats around their castles.” Further, DAAG Alford emphasized the need for aggressive antitrust enforcement that imposes “obligations only on parties that violate the law, and only for the limited time necessary to restore competition.”
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• DAAG Roger P. Alford Delivers Remarks to the International Association of Privacy Professionals. On June 26, 2025, DOJ Antitrust Deputy Assistant Attorney General Roger Alford delivered remarks to the International Association of Privacy Professionals during its 2025 Digital Policy Leadership Retreat. DAAG Alford’s topic for his speech was “where we go from here in applying antitrust law and policy in the digital world.” In short, to answer that question, he stated that “[w]e are heading towards a better future for the American people that maximizes their consumer welfare in digital markets through the vigorous enforcement of the antitrust laws.” Specifically, DAAG Alford emphasized that the consumer welfare standard should be applied to digital markets, even though traditional measures of consumer welfare are difficult to apply. Further, he advocates for a more expansive view of consumer welfare regarding digital markets that includes, for example, better privacy protections, better utilization of consumers time, attention, and data, and innovation. With regard to “Big Tech,” DAAG stated that the division, under Antitrust Assistant Attorney General Gail Slater’s leadership, “will bring the antitrust laws to bear,” while welcoming procompetitive mergers, innovation, and venture capital funding within “Little Tech.”
  • Read DAAG Alford’s Speech

© Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP 2025 All Rights Reserved. This Newsletter is intended to be a general summary of the law and does not constitute legal advice. You should consult with counsel to determine applicable legal requirements in a specific fact situation.