ABA Antitrust Law Section

[ABA Antitrust Daily Digest March 20, 2026] Live Nation CEO Pay Tied To 'Solving' DOJ-Antitrust Problem (Bloomberg) Live Nation Entertainment Inc. Chief Executive Officer Michael Rapino told a New York jury that his multi-million-dollar compensation is tied in part to his “solving the DOJ problem” — a reference to the threat posed by government antitrust enforcers who want to break up the company. msn.com/en-us/money/ge…

[ABA Antitrust Daily Digest March 20, 2026] Nexstar Says Tegna Merger Has Closed with Federal Approval (The Wall Street Journal) TV station owner Nexstar Media Group said it has closed its $6.2 billion merger with rival Tegna, after winning the federal government’s clearance for a combination that will create a broadcast television behemoth and result in the consolidation of hundreds of local stations. wsj.com/business/media…

[ABA Antitrust Daily Digest March 20, 2026] Nvidia’s $20 Billion Groq Deal Queried by Warren, Blumenthal (Bloomberg) Nvidia Corp.’s $20 billion licensing deal with artificial intelligence startup Groq is being probed by a pair of Democratic senators over whether it violates antitrust laws by improperly avoiding a merger review and illegally consolidating its power in the market for AI computing. msn.com/en-us/money/co…

[ABA Antitrust Daily Digest March 20, 2026] Nippon Steel Again Dodges Consumer Bid to Halt US Steel Purchase (Bloomberg) Japan’s Nippon Steel convinced a federal judge for a second time to dismiss a private plaintiffs’ case seeking to unwind the company’s $14.1 billion purchase of US Steel Corp. last year. The consumer plaintiffs’ amended complaint “remains deficient” and again fails to allege antitrust injury, Judge Eumi K. Lee of the US District Court for the Northern District of California said in a ruling that dismissed the case for good. news.bloomberglaw.com/antitrust/nipp…

[ABA Antitrust Daily Digest March 20, 2026] Broadcom Hit with EU Antitrust Complaint and Request for Interim Measure (Reuters) U.S. chipmaker Broadcom risks an EU antitrust probe after lobbying group Cloud Infrastructure Services Providers in Europe on Thursday urged EU regulators to temporarily stop it from ending its VMware Cloud Service Provider programme in Europe. msn.com/en-us/news/new…

[ABA Antitrust Daily Digest March 19, 2026] Eight States Sue to Block $6.2 Billion Nexstar-Tegna Merger (The Wall Street Journal) A coalition of eight states is attempting to block Nexstar Media’s planned $6.2 billion acquisition of rival broadcaster Tegna, a deal that if allowed to proceed would see the consolidation of hundreds of local TV stations. The states, which include California, Colorado and New York, filed a lawsuit late Wednesday on antitrust grounds, arguing the deal would result in too much concentration in some local TV markets. wsj.com/business/media…

[ABA Antitrust Daily Digest March 19, 2026] Compass Dismisses Lawsuit Against Zillow After 'Zillow Ban' Ends (Reuters) Compass, the largest U.S. residential real estate brokerage, on Wednesday dismissed its antitrust lawsuit accusing Zillow of illegally restricting home listings, after Zillow agreed to open its platform to more sellers. In its complaint filed last June, Compass had accused the largest U.S. online real estate portal of illegally refusing to list homes that brokers had marketed privately for more than one business day and conspiring with Redfin to keep homes off that platform. msn.com/en-ca/money/to…

[ABA Antitrust Daily Digest March 19, 2026] Adobe Comes Under UK Antitrust Investigation Over Cancellation Fees (The Wall Street Journal) U.K. antitrust officials launched an investigation into Adobe, saying early cancellation fees on membership plans for certain products might be in breach of consumer-protection law. The Competition and Markets Authority said customers who cancel more than 14 days after signing up to Adobe’s annual plan—billed monthly—must pay 50% of the remaining yearly cost, but will have access to the product only until the end of that month’s billing period. msn.com/en-us/money/ot…

[ABA Antitrust Daily Digest March 19, 2026] California Antitrust Bill Targets Big Tech’s Grip on Apps, Data (Bloomberg) California lawmakers are proposing to expand the state’s antitrust laws to bar some of the technology industry’s biggest companies from using their platforms to disadvantage competitors. The measure, backed by San Francisco-based startup incubator Y Combinator, targets practices that smaller tech firms have long complained make it harder for them to reach consumers and compete with established services. news.bloomberglaw.com/bloomberg-gove…

[ABA Antitrust Daily Digest March 19, 2026] US Judge Dismisses Google App Store Antitrust Class Action by Canadian Users (Reuters) Alphabet's Google has convinced a U.S. judge to dismiss a lawsuit accusing the company of overcharging Canadian customers for Android apps and other purchases from the Google Play store, ruling that U.S. antitrust law does not apply to the claims. reuters.com/legal/governme…

[ABA Antitrust Daily Digest March 19, 2026] Acquihires, Often Used by Big Tech, are a 'Red Flag, ' DOJ Antitrust Head Says (Reuters) Companies’ efforts to sidestep U.S. antitrust scrutiny through tactics such as “acquihires” - a strategy some Big Tech firms use to snap up talent at artificial intelligence startups - are a “red flag,” the top U.S. antitrust enforcer told Reuters on Wednesday. Acquihires, where the world's biggest technology firms pay large sums in deals with promising startups to take their technology and talent, but stop short of formally acquiring the target, are increasingly being viewed by antitrust regulators as an attempt to evade merger rules. reuters.com/world/acquihir…

[ABA Antitrust Daily Digest March 18, 2026] FTC Monitoring How Drug Companies React to Patent Cliff, Official Says (Reuters) The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is on the lookout for anticompetitive practices in the pharmaceutical industry with a number of blockbuster drugs near the end of their patents, the FTC's head of antitrust enforcement said on Tuesday, as the agency looks to protect consumers from unfair prices. Monitoring the shift in the market brought about by patent expirations is part of the FTC's "laser focus" on healthcare, Dan Guarnera, director of the FTC's bureau of competition, said at Reuters Events' Pharma USA conference in Philadelphia. msn.com/en-us/money/ma…

[ABA Antitrust Daily Digest March 18, 2026] Live Nation Ticketing Worker Regrets Calling Customers Stupid, He Says at Antitrust Trial (The Associated Press) A Live Nation Entertainment ticketing employee testified Tuesday at the company's antitrust trial that his private instant messages were “very immature and unacceptable” several years ago when he told a coworker some customers were “so stupid” and boasted of “robbing them blind, baby." msn.com/en-us/entertai…

[ABA Antitrust Daily Digest March 18, 2026] Ivies’ Scholarship Policy Market Definition Slammed by Court (Bloomberg Law) A panel of Second Circuit judges wrestled with athletes’ legal argument that the Ivy League’s ban on athletic scholarships is a violation of antitrust law, as they strongly questioned the boundaries of the market for athletically and academically high achieving students. During oral arguments Tuesday, Judge Beth Robinson asked how the plaintiffs can argue what the Ivy League is doing is “anticompetitive” when the schools get tens of thousands more applicants than they accept. news.bloomberglaw.com/antitrust/ivy-…

[ABA Antitrust Daily Digest March 18, 2026] Germany Curbs Gas Station Hikes, Toughens Antitrust Oversight (Bloomberg) Germany moved to cap how often gas stations can raise prices and tighten antitrust oversight in response to a consumer backlash over war-driven price increases. Gas-station operators will be allowed to raise gasoline and diesel prices only once per day, at noon, while reductions can be made at any time. Violations will be subject to fines of as much as €100,000 ($115,400), according to a document from the economy ministry. bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

[ABA Antitrust Daily Digest March 17, 2026] India Probes Fragrance Giants Givaudan, Firmenich, IFF Over Deals Not to Poach Workers (Reuters) India's antitrust watchdog is investigating global fragrance makers Givaudan, Firmenich and International Flavors & Fragrances over accusations of striking anti-poaching deals that can harm workers, regulatory documents show. The fragrance case is India's first touching on labour practices, lawyers say, though authorities have often investigated price-fixing. msn.com/en-us/news/wor…

[ABA Antitrust Daily Digest March 17, 2026] Italy’s Antitrust Watchdog Launches Fact‑Finding Inquiry into Quantum Computing Sector Italy’s antitrust authority on Tuesday launched a fact‑finding inquiry into the quantum computing sector, citing risks linked to market concentration, technological lock‑in and the growing influence of global cloud providers in shaping access. msn.com/en-gb/money/ge…

[ABA Antitrust Daily Digest March 17, 2026] Mastercard, Visa Can Appeal UK Ruling That Merchant Fees Breach Antitrust Law (Reuters) Visa and Mastercard can challenge a judgment that found their default multilateral interchange fees charged to retailers infringe competition law, London's Court of Appeal ruled on Tuesday, in a long-running legal battle over the charges. The Competition Appeal Tribunal ruled last year, in linked lawsuits brought by hundreds of merchants, that Visa and Mastercard's multilateral interchange fees breached European competition law. msn.com/en-gb/money/ot…

[ABA Antitrust Daily Digest March 17, 2026] Live Nation Antitrust Case Resumes With Testimony About Springsteen Fees (The New York Times) The jury hearing an antitrust case against Live Nation, the concert giant that includes Ticketmaster, returned to court on Monday after a week’s break, during which the Justice Department announced a surprise settlement with the company and a coalition of more than 30 states dissatisfied with the deal decided to continue the case. “Welcome back, members of the jury, from your spring break,” said Judge Arun Subramanian, as the jurors settled back into their seats in Federal District Court in Manhattan. nytimes.com/2026/03/16/art…