Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, WORTH NOTING—Other Antitrust and Trade Regulation developments, (Apr 12, 2016)

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

ANTITRUST NEWS. The FTC is holding a workshop on June 21, entitled “Something New Under the Sun: Competition & Consumer Protection Issues in Solar Energy,” which will examine competition and consumer protection issues concerning consumers’ increased use of rooftop solar panels to generate their own electric power. Industry representatives, consumer advocates, academic experts, and government regulators will discuss a number of issues, including: (1) the current state of the solar power industry and anticipated technological advancements; (2) current approaches used by utility regulators to compensate consumers for the power they generate, with a particular focus on net metering laws and regulations; (3) competition among solar panel providers (solar firms), between solar firms and regulated utilities, and between solar generation and other power generation technologies; and (4) consumer protection issues, including how consumers get the information they need to decide whether to install rooftop solar panels.

CONSUMER PROTECTION NEWS. The Commission has published a second notice and request for comment on its request to OMB for a three-year extension of the current paperwork reduction act clearance for the information collection requirements contained in the Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule (MITOR).Typically, the MITOR requires a merchant to: (1) have a reasonable basis for any express or implied shipment representation made in soliciting the sale (if no express time period is promised, the implied shipment representation is 30 days); (2) notify the consumer and obtain the consumer’s consent to any delay in shipment; and (3) make prompt and full refunds when the consumer exercises a cancellation option or the merchant is unable to meet the Rule’s other requirements. The FTC seeks comments on the information collection requirements in MITOR (81 Federal Register 21549, April 12, 2016).

News: Antitrust ConsumerProtection FederalTradeCommissionNews