The Importance of Updating Antitrust Laws and Guidelines

The Biden administration is prioritizing antitrust policy to address growing concerns about corporate power and monopolies. Officials such as Jonathan Cantor and Lena Kahn are working to return America to a pre-1980s approach to managing big business. One key aspect of this effort is rewriting the merger guidelines, which provide interpretive documents for enforcing antitrust laws. Comment dockets were opened to obtain public input, and over a thousand comments were received, demonstrating the public's interest in curbing corporate power. These new guidelines challenge the conventional belief that most mergers are beneficial and focus on protecting competition, addressing labor market issues, and considering the impact of serial acquisitions. Wall Street and corporate interests have expressed opposition, while ordinary Americans have shown support for these changes.