On January 14, 2026, the Federal Trade Commission announced increases to the jurisdictional thresholds for premerger notification under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act. The FTC adjusts the thresholds annually, consistent with changes to gross national product. The announced changes will become effective for filings made or transactions closing 30 days after publication of the revised thresholds in the Federal Register.
NASCAR & Racing Teams Settle Antitrust Dispute
On December 11, 2025, NASCAR settled an ongoing and closely watched antitrust trial brought by two racing teams, 23XI Racing (co-owned by Michael Jordan) and Front Row Motorsports, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina. The settlement was announced after the plaintiffs had presented their case-in-chief and following testimony from several high-profile witnesses, including Jordan. The financial terms of the settlement have not been publicly disclosed, but the agreement aims to provide a more equitable business framework for teams in the sport.
FTC Fails to Establish That Social Media Company Has Monopoly Power
On November 18, 2025, after five years of litigation, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia entered judgment in favor of Meta and against the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in its lawsuit alleging that Meta held and illegally maintained monopoly power in personal social networking through its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp. The decision followed a six-week bench trial that included testimony from high-ranking Meta executives, including Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg.
State AGs Move to Intervene in Federal Oversight of DOJ’s $14 Billion Merger Agreement
On October 14, 2025, a coalition of 13 state attorneys general, including those from California, New York, Massachusetts and Illinois, filed a motion seeking to intervene in the Tunney Act review by the United States District Court for the Northern District of California of the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) settlement that allowed the $14 billion merger between Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) and Juniper Networks to proceed.
Read the full Alert on the Duane Morris website.
FTC Abandons Appeals of Decisions Striking Down Its Noncompete Rule, but Restrictive Covenants Remain an Enforcement Priority
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has formally abandoned its appeals in Ryan, LLC v. FTC (5th Cir.) and Properties of the Villages v. FTC (11th Cir.), effectively conceding the vacatur of its proposed nationwide ban on noncompete agreements. While this decision confirms that the FTC’s sweeping noncompete rule will not take effect, employers should not interpret the move as a retreat from scrutiny of post-employment restrictive covenants. On the contrary, recent enforcement actions and policy initiatives suggest that the FTC will continue to pursue noncompetes and similar labor market restrictive covenants through alternative strategies. Read the full Alert on the Duane Morris website.
Mitigating the Risk of AI Pricing Tool Noncompliance with FTC Act
Duane Morris special counsel Justin Donoho authored the Journal of Robotics, Artificial Intelligence & Law article, “Ten Design Guidelines to Mitigate the Risk of AI Pricing Tool Noncompliance with the Federal Trade Commission Act, Sherman Act, and Colorado AI Act.” The article is available here and is a must-read for corporate counsel involved with development or deployment of AI pricing tools.
DOJ Antitrust Division Offers New Incentives for Reporting Antitrust Violations
The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division has officially launched its first-ever Whistleblower Rewards Program through a memorandum of understanding with the United States Postal Service and the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General. This new program offers monetary rewards of up to 30 percent of criminal fines recovered for individuals who provide information leading to successful antitrust prosecutions of at least $1 million in fines. Read the full Alert on the Duane Morris LLP website.
Chambers USA Recognizes Duane Morris Antitrust Division and Attorneys
Duane Morris LLP is pleased to announced that Chambers USA has recognized Duane Morris Antitrust division and attorneys.
Pennsylvania
Edward G. Biester III, Antitrust
Sean P. McConnell, Antitrust
Washington, D.C.
Brian H. Pandya, Antitrust
Newest FTC Commissioner Mark Meador Signals Continuation of Aggressive Antitrust Enforcement
On May 1, newly-confirmed FTC Commissioner Mark Meador stated in a speech, and in a 33-page paper released the same day, that federal antitrust enforcers should be more concerned about underenforcement than overenforcement of the antitrust laws. In the speech, to the Conservative Partnership Institute in Washington, DC, Meador made the case that conservatives should reject a “laissez-faire or libertarian approach to antitrust law,” and instead “embrace vigorous enforcement of the antitrust laws.”
Meador stated that the Clayton Act demands that the government err on the side of caution when assessing the legality of mergers, and that “[a] greater level of certainty should be required to excuse a merger that eliminates competition than to condemn it.” Going further, Meador offered his view that, whether applied to political power or economic power, “big is bad.”
Meador was sworn in on April 16 as the third Republican commissioner. While the other two Republican commissioners, Chairman Andrew Ferguson and Melissa Holyoak, have also signaled that the Commission will continue aggressive enforcement in certain sectors (such as technology), Meador’s speech is perhaps the most explicit sign yet that there will be very little if any slowdown in enforcement by the Trump Administration’s FTC. But, as we have previously noted, the theories and means underlying this FTC’s enforcement priorities may still differ, even if the ends are closer than many anticipated.
Presidential Administration Begins to Focus Its View of Antitrust Enforcement
Recent actions by both the Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) indicate that the enforcement agencies are continuing with policies similar to the prior administration, albeit with slightly different objectives and focus. Businesses should monitor public statements and recent enforcement activity to evaluate how antitrust enforcement priorities at the agencies are taking shape. Read the full Alert on the Duane Morris website.