Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, WORTH NOTING—Other Antitrust and Trade Regulation developments, (Jul 23, 2015)

A periodic roundup of other items of interest to the Antitrust and Trade Regulation community:

PRIVACY NEWS: The ability of modern technology, such as technology that tracks and aggregates consumer behavior on the Internet, to invade consumers’ right to privacy is a concern today and has given rise to numerous proposals for defending personal privacy expectations while realizing the benefits of commercialized technology, said FTC Commissioner Maureen Ohlhausen in an Antitrust Law Journal article. One such class of proposals seeks to use competition law to protect consumer privacy. In evaluating whether competition or consumer protection laws offer a good way to policy privacy violations, in Ohlhausen’s view, consumer protection laws are a more direct route to protecting privacy than competition law, although privacy can be a dimension of competition. The article is “Competition, Consumer Protection, and the Right [Approach] to Privacy” by Maureen K. Ohlhausen and FTC attorney advisor Alexander P. Okuliar.

ADVERTISING NEWS: The FTC will hold a workshop on October 30 to explore the growing use of online lead generation in various industries, including consumer lending and education, the agency announced on July 22. Lead generators identify or cultivate consumer interest in a product or service, and sell the consumer “lead” information to third parties. The workshop, “Follow the Lead: An FTC Workshop About Online Lead Generation,” will gather a variety of stakeholders, including industry representatives, consumer advocates, and government regulators, to discuss consumer protection issues raised by the practices of the lead generation industry, such as (1) how online lead generation works and its variations, depending on the industry; (2) what types of lead generation conduct may be unlawful under the FTC Act’s prohibition against unfair or deceptive practices; (3) best practices for entities that generate and sell consumer leads; and (4) how consumers can avoid unlawful conduct in the online marketplace.

FRANCHISING & DISTRIBUTION NEWS: Responding to a decision by the city council in Kansas City, Missouri, to pass a minimum wage increase to $13 an hour by 2020, without language that discriminates against franchisees, International Franchise Association (IFA) President Steve Caldeira stated on July 17 that the new law marks a “resounding defeat” to the Service Employees International Union’s attempt to destroy the franchise model by treating franchisees as large businesses, rather than as the small, locally-owned businesses that they are. Since the beginning of the minimum wage increase discussion, the IFA has encouraged the city council to recognize the 1,400 local franchises with over 18,300 employees as small businesses and to avoid discriminating against the franchise business model simply because they operate under a well-known brand name.

News: Advertising ConsumerProtection FranchisingDistribution Privacy