The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has many problems. From its rewritten mission that excluded consumers to accusations by the House that FTC Chair Lina Khan abuses her power. At its foundation, the FTC has moved away from a consumer-centered approach. Nowhere is that clearer than in the FTC’s policies towards mergers and acquisitions (M&A), once guided by a standard based on consumers, now guided by one based on competitors.
For more than forty years, the Consumer Welfare Standard (CWS) was at the heart of all FTC actions. The CWS posited that anticompetitive actions, such as blocking mergers or breaking up companies, were only appropriate if consumers had been harmed by illegal actions. This guide made the consumer the center of the FTC’s mission and activities. However, FTC Chair Lina Khan recently removed the word “consumer” entirely from the agency’s strategic plan, signaling a departure from decades of precedent.
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