FTC: Watch articles from May 2000

FTC: Watch archives from May 2000

A peek behind the curtain.(Brief Article)
May 8, 2000... First, some investigatees the FTC hasn't sued recently. United Container/Rail Haulers of America was suspected of using unfair methods of competition 'in connection with transporting freight by truck to and from the Port of Baltimore. "The...

Microsoft remedy: from conduct to structure in only two years.(Brief Article)
May 8, 2000... Almost exactly two years ago, on May 18, 1998, the U.S. Justice Dept. brought suit under the Sherman Act against Microsoft Corp., alleging, among other things, illegal monopolization and illegal tying. Assistant Attorney General Joel I....

An equally divided supreme court fails to clarify the role of federal supplemental jurisdiction in indirect purchaser suits.(Brief Article)
May 8, 2000... Barred from federal court by the Supreme Court's landmark decision in Illinois Brick Co. v. Illinois, 431 U.S. 720 (1977), indirect purchasers and their class action counsel turned to state legislatures and state courts. Those efforts to...

2 bills would overhaul FCRA : House ponders FCRA's effect on workplace conduct investigations.
May 8, 2000... "The Fair Credit Reporting Act and amendments to it tend to make members on both sides of the aisle of the Banking Committee a little jumpy." Congressman Bruce F. Vento (D-Minn.) Disparate federal government agencies, human rights and labor...

Senate airline competition hearing : DOT asked to challenge airlines who don't play fair.
May 8, 2000... "Start up carriers face serious obstacles in establishing service competing with the incumbent carriers," opined Senate Antitrust Subcommittee Ranking Member Herb Kohl (D-Wisc.) at Senate hearing "Airline Competition: Clear Skies or Turbulence...

Concurrent USDA-DOJ merger review debated at Senate agriculture hearing.(Brief Article)
May 8, 2000... Two bills that would authorize the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to challenge agribusiness mergers are unnecessary and potentially detrimental, former Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust James Rill testified on behalf of an...

FTC online B2B public workshop.(Brief Article)
May 8, 2000... An FTC public workshop on mushrooming business-to-business ("B2B") Internet marketplaces is slated for June 29. B2B web auctions can expect the same type of antitrust scrutiny as joint ventures, FTC Policy and Evaluation Office Assistant...

Online advertising guides released.(Brief Article)
May 8, 2000... Consumer protection laws apply equally to Internet media activities. That was the FTC staff's caution to online advertisers last week in an 80 page working paper "Dot Com Disclosures: Information about Online Advertising." The paper covers...

Public forum to examine High-tech industries warranties.(Brief Article)
May 8, 2000... It's been a quarter-century since Congress passed the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act and told the FTC to write implementing regulations. The FTC has decided that it's time to revisit product warranty issues in light of major changes in the...

EnergyGuide label show-time in FTC appliance label summer survey.(Brief Article)
May 8, 2000... FTC staff will go online and visit appliance dealer showrooms around the U.S. to assess appliance retailers' compliance with the Appliance Labeling Rule in a summer survey. Staff 'sniffers' will check whether: * the yellow-and-black...

FTC and friends pool complaints to combat consumer fraud.(Brief Article)
May 8, 2000... A "strategic alliance to help fight consumer fraud in the 21st Century" teams up the FTC with the Council of Better Business Bureaus (BBB), the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG). The...

Restructured aluminum deal can proceed.(Alcoa Inc. and Reynolds Metals Co)(Brief Article)
May 8, 2000... Two global giants in the production of aluminum -- Alcoa Inc. and Reynolds Metals Co. -- may proceed with their proposed $5 billion merger now that they have agreed to sell two refineries that produce alumina powder. Alumina is a key ingredient...

Two German firms, two U.S. firms, two execs plead guilty in vitamin cartel case.(Merck KgaA and Degussa-Huls AG)(Brief Article)
May 8, 2000... Two German pharmaceutical companies -- Merck KgaA and Degussa-Huls AG-- and two U.S. pharmaceutical companies --Nepera Inc. and Reilly Industries Inc.-- have agreed to plead guilty and pay criminal antitrust fines totaling $33 million for...

More NY ad/display materials biz members accused of kickback conspiracy.(Artstaff Marketing Ltd.)(Brief Article)
May 8, 2000... Another Manhattan supplier of advertising and display materials has been charged with taking part in a conspiracy with one of his customers. The scheme is alleged to have resulted in his paying about $200,000 in kickbacks, which he then...

Verbatim.(Microsoft case and the Justice Department remedy)
May 8, 2000... Attorney General Janet Reno and Assistant Attorney General Joel I. Klein on the Department's proposed Microsoft remedy Reno: "This is the right remedy at the right time. Our proposal will stimulate competition, promote innovation, and give...

Violence and video games.(Journal of Personality and Social Psychology)(Brief Article)
May 8, 2000... Violence and video games: With the FTC's report on violence in electronic media expected by the end of this month, an article published in the April, 2000 issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology reports that studies have found...

Violence, electronic media and politics.
May 8, 2000... Violence, electronic media and politics: Variety reports that Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) have prepared legislation banning video games, video programs, movies and music unless...

Merger watch - AOL-Time Warner.
May 8, 2000... Merger watch - AOL-Time Warner: Talk about bad timing. Shortly after the Consumer Federation of America, together with some internet service providers (ISPs) and other consumerists, complained that America Online's acquisition of Time Warner...

Microsoft's costs.
May 8, 2000... Microsoft's costs: The May 7 New York Times reports that New York University Stern School of Business Dean Nicholas Economides estimates that Microsoft's legal fees will reach $6 billion [sic] by November. Why November? Because that's when the...

Consumer benefits.
May 8, 2000... Consumer benefits: Computer guru Jesse Berst, editorial director of ZD Net's e-zine AnchorDesk, estimates that individual consumers will each be better off by $105 a year "if the government breaks up Microsoft." Berst starts with Dr. Alex...

Maintaining the Microsoft monopoly.
May 8, 2000... Maintaining the Microsoft monopoly: As reported elsewhere, the FTC is asking for comments on two new public workshops, business-to-business Internet joint ventures and software warranties. The agency has also extended the comment period for its...

FTC meet the NSC.
May 8, 2000... FTC meet the NSC: According to the September 20, 1999 issue of Federal Times, the National Security Council was to have created a special office to explore the benefits to the federal government of cutting its reliance on "proprietary software"...

The love bug.
May 8, 2000... The love bug: we're unsure whether to feel lucky or unappreciated. Only one of our subscribers forwarded the Windows[TM] e-mail virus/worm "ILOVEYOU" to us. But no harm done. We don't use Windows[TM]. Fortunately, the FTC and the Justice Dept....

In a word.
May 8, 2000... In a word: "I won't demand a paternity test." - Cornell Univ. Professor Emeritus Alfred E. Kahn on being referred to as the father of airline deregulation at a May 2 Senate Airline Competition Hearing "That's a matter of procurement." -...

Equinox pays $40 Million to settle pyramid scam allegations.(court decision information)(Brief Article)
May 8, 2000... Equinox International Corp. and William Gouldd will fork out $40 million to reimburse consumers who lost out in an alleged pyramid scheme to settle the FTC's and eight states' charges that they made deceptive earnings claims and provided...

Alternative cigarette makers required to qualify "no additives" claims.
May 8, 2000... Two manufacturers of alternative cigarettes will not represent that their products provide safe alternatives to regular cigarettes to settle FTC allegations that they made deceptive, unsubstantiated marketing claims. The FTC was not happy...

Feds unite to attack day-trading scams.(online trading court decision information)(Brief Article)
May 8, 2000... Fourteen online trading firms and their principals have agreed to stop claiming that the day trading strategies they promote can make investors easy money with little risk, settling charges stemming from coordinated enforcement actions by the...

FTC insists Internet lease ads disclose total cost information.(Federal Trade Commission)(Brief Article)
May 8, 2000... Auto dealerships in three states and their principals will clearly and conspicuously disclose total cost information in lease ads, settling FTC charges that they ran deceptive online lease ads. The FTC complaint tomes R.N. Motors, Inc., Red...

Weight loss product marketers $10 million lighter.(Enforma Natural Products, Inc)(Brief Article)
May 8, 2000... There's no such thing as a calorie-free lunch, the FTC told weight loss product marketer Enforma Natural Pro ducts, Inc. Enforma and two principals will shed 10 million financial calories to settle FTC charges filed in Federal Court that...

Vitamin O marketers taste FTC medicine.(Rose Creek Health Products, Inc and Staff of Life, Inc)(Brief Article)
May 8, 2000... Two companies and their principal who flog a cure-all vitamin "O" product will provide $375,000 for consumer redress to settle FTC charges that their health claims were false and unsubstantiated. The respondents' claims that "Vitamin O"...

Telemarketers snagged for alleged credit card fraud.(Modern Credit Financial Services, Inc)(Brief Article)
May 8, 2000... Modern Credit Financial Services, Inc. (MCFS) and two principles will post $500,000 performance bonds prior to telemarketing or plugging credit cards or loans to settle FTC allegations that they fooled consumers into paying for credit cards...

Exxon Mobil Corp. requests approval to divest Mobil pipeline.(Colonial Pipeline Company )(Brief Article)
May 8, 2000... ExxonMobil has requested FTC approval to divest Mobil Pipe Line Company's interest in Colonial Pipeline Company and Colonial Ventures, L.L.C. (Colonial). Mobil's interests would be repurchased by Colonial through the proposed divestiture and...

BP-Amoco/ARCO IP agreements approved.(by Federal Trade Commission)(Brief Article)
May 8, 2000... The FTC has approved BP-Amoco's request to enter into an Intellectual Property License Agreement, Intellectual Property Assignment and Patent License Grantback Agreement with Phillips Petroleum Company. BP-Amoco was required to enter into...

Defendant added to complaint.(Federal Data Services, Inc)(Brief Article)
May 8, 2000... The FTC added Dawn Johnson (also known as Dawn Tate) as an individual defendant to the Federal Data Services, Inc. complaint alleging that the defendants misrepresented federal job opportunities. The agency learned that she was a principle in...

Calendar.
May 8, 2000... May 9-10 - Assistant Attorney General Joel I. Klein will speak at the CEO Leadership Summit, Atlanta, Ga.; "When it comes to antitrust enforcement, the new economy ain't so new after all" May 10 - Microsoft's summary response to plaintiffs'...

Variety v. price in antitrust analysis.
May 22, 2000... "Commoditized. No company wants that word applied to its goods or services. Merely mentioning commoditization sends shivers down the spines of executives and entrepreneurs alike. Differentiation disappears, margins fall through the floor, and...

Congress considering hefty FTC budget increase and new Online Fraud Act.
May 22, 2000... Congress is considering granting the FTC a $39 million budget increase from the current level of $125 million to $164 million, according to Congressional sources. The relevant Senate and House bills -- the Commerce, Justice, State and...

FTC releases slotting fees workshop agenda; Senate to hold another slotting fees hearing.
May 22, 2000... A panel of antitrust practioners will propose future slotting fees policy recommendations at the FTC slotting allowances workshop taking place on May 31 and June 1. The FTC defines slotting allowances as "the lump-sum, up-front payments...

Balto and Moltenbrey on standards setting in network markets.
May 22, 2000... "Compatibility standards are crucial for industries subject to network economics." FTC Assistant Director Office of Policy and Evaluation David A. Balto Antitrust red flags go up when standard setting joint venture agreements extend beyond...

Final financial privacy rule issued, compliance deadline extended to July 2001.
May 22, 2000... The FTC has issued a final Rule implementing the financial privacy provisions of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act [FTC: WATCH No. 538, February 28] on May 15, to become partially effective November 13. The time for full compliance is now July...

U.S.-E.U. task force on harmonization; maybe antitrust agreement with Canada.(Brief Article)
May 22, 2000... The FTC, Antitrust Division and the European Commission (EC) Competition Division (DGIV) have created an EU-U.S. merger task force to establish areas where soft merger harmonization can be considered, said FTC International Antitrust Assistant...

Food manufacturers petition FTC and FDA for labeling guidance.(Brief Article)
May 22, 2000... The world's largest association of food, beverage and consumer product companies and five other grocery industry groups have petitioned the FTC and Food and Drag Administration (FDA) to provide "rules of the road" for manufacturers wanting to...

DeWine and Kohl urge FTC and FCC to scrutinize the technology issues in AOL/Time Warner merger.(Brief Article)
May 22, 2000... Senate Antitrust Subcommittee Chair Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) and Ranking Member Herb Kohl (D-Wisc.) sent a joint May 10 letter to both FTC Chairman Robert Pitofsky and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman William Kennard -- urging them...

FBI's new Internet Fraud Complaint Center to feed FTC Consumer Sentinel.
May 22, 2000... The Justice Dept. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and National White Collar Crime Center announced the creation of the Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC) on May 8 -- close on the tail of the FTC's recently announced expansion of its...

Bernstein testifies on recent COPPA Rule, keeps mum on general privacy legislation.(Joan Z. Bernstein)(Brief Article)
May 22, 2000... Recent survey results indicate that 92% of consumers are concerned about the misuse of their personal information collected online, testified FTC Consumer Protection Bureau Chief Joan Z. Bernstein at the House Intellectual Property Subcommittee...

Are ALJs employees or officers? Is the OTS a "bureau"?(Brief Article)
May 22, 2000... In the 1990's, Michael D. Landry ran afoul of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which ordered him out of the banking industry, or at least that part of the industry that participates in the FDIC's programs. The FDIC's decision followed...

Merger watch.(Brief Article)
May 22, 2000... Merger watch: Solutions 6 Holdings Limited and Elite Information Group have abandoned their merger in the face of FTC opposition.

Petroleum prices.(petroleum industry)(Brief Article)
May 22, 2000... Petroleum prices: in June 1996, a class-action lawsuit was filed in California state court accusing nine major oil companies of price-fixing and illegally restricting the supply of California Air Resources Board (CARB) gasoline, the only...

ASTA gets its wish.(Brief Article)
May 22, 2000... ASTA gets its wish: the Antitrust Division has opened an investigation of a planned joint venture by United Airlines, Northwest Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines to sell tickets on the Internet. In April, the...

ARTA has a wish.(Association of Retail Travel Agents)(Brief Article)
May 22, 2000... ARTA has a wish: The Association of Retail Travel Agents has its own beef with the airlines' Internet sales sites and has asked the FTC, the Canadian Competition Bureau and the European Union Competition Commission against the "T-2" Internet...

Competition in the great white north.(Canada)(Brief Article)
May 22, 2000... Competition in the great white north: Canada's Competition Bureau is soliciting advice on four proposed amendments to the Competition Act and the Competition Tribunal Act now pending in the House of Commons. Bill C-402 deals with abuse of...

Online privacy.(Brief Article)
May 22, 2000... Online privacy: even the FTC's most vocal opponent of government regulation, Commissioner Orson Swindle, has been warning online marketers for some time that if industry couldn't figure out how to self-regulate the gathering and use of...

Scam busters.(atvantage.com)(Brief Article)
May 22, 2000... Scam busters: @vantage[TM], which calls itself, The Buyer's Advocate, an office supplies, services and business-consumer information Web site (www.atvantage.com), says it is working with the FTC and the Senate Committee on Small Business "to...

The Microsoft monoculture - correction and amplification.(Brief Article)
May 22, 2000... The Microsoft monoculture - correction and amplification: In No. 544, we reported that "the FTC and the Justice Dept. emerged unscathed" from the ILOVEYOU virus. The basis of our report about DOJ was a statement from an official in the...

Latest vitamin price-fix guilty pleas bring total prosecutions to 24, fines and jail time for executives.(Merck KgaA)(Brief Article)
May 22, 2000... German pharmaceutical manufacturers Merck KgaA and Degussa-Huls AG and U.S. counterparts Nepera Inc. and Reilly Industries Inc. are pleading guilty to participating in worldwide conspiracies to suppress and eliminate competition in the vitamin...

Former marine construction exec indicted in Houston for bid-rigging.(Michael Harless Lam)(Brief Article)
May 22, 2000... A grand jury has charged that Michael Harless Lam, once upon a time president of J. Ray McDermott, S.A., a Panamanian firm located in Houston, met with "competitors" in Leiden, The Netherlands; Penang, Malaysia; Istanbul, Turkey and other...

Branded butter busters U.S. settles merger complaint.(Dairy Farmers of America)(Brief Article)
May 22, 2000... Is "branded" butter a different product from unbranded butter?[*] The Antitrust Division thinks so and in March filed suit to halt the merger of Dairy Farmers of America and SODIAAL North America Corp., alleging that SODIAAL is the only...

Waste industry transactions restructured to save competition in Wisconsin, Ohio, Penn.(Superior Services Inc.)(Brief Article)
May 22, 2000... Superior Services Inc. has agreed to divest commercial waste collection operations and transfer stations in Milwaukee and Mansfield, Ohio and to abandon its purchase of Allied Waste Industries landfill in Leeper, Pa. According to the...

Antitrust Division says SBC batting .250.(SBC Communications Inc.)(Brief Article)
May 22, 2000... SBC's current FCC application for permission to sell long distance service in Texas fixes one of the Justice Dept.'s previously expressed competitive concerns by adequately providing "interconnection trunks," telephone lines that carry...

Klein: Microsoft split could emulate AT&T breakup.(Assistant Attorney General Joel I. Klein)(Brief Article)
May 22, 2000... Assistant Attorney General Joel I. Klein says that one of his favorite reactions to the Justice Dept.'s dismemberment of the AT&T monopoly "is a Forbes Magazine article published the day after the AT&T divestiture took place: `For the consumer,...

5 major music firms settle resale price maintenance charges.(Universal Music and Video Distribution, Sony Corp. of America, Time-Warner Inc., EMI Music Distribution and Bertelsmann Music Group)(Brief Article)
May 22, 2000... "In the future the Commission will view with great skepticism cooperative advertising programs that effectively eliminate the ability of dealers to sell products at a discount." Joint statement by all FTC Commissioners. Five prerecorded...

FTC asks attention deficit disorder drug marketers to pay attention.(Brief Article)
May 22, 2000... Two companies that marketed dietary supplements with claims of curing Attention Deficit Disorder (ADA) or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) will refrain from making unsubstantiated efficacy claims to settle FTC charges that they...

Baxter must make inhibitor treatments for NABI for another year.(Brief Article)
May 22, 2000... The FTC voted to give NABI an extra year to obtain all FDA approvals to manufacture Baxter's Factor VIII Inhibitor Treatments. A 1997 FTC divestiture order required Baxter to make Autoplex Factor VIII Inhibitor Treatments for NABI (the...

Duke Energy Corporation order final.(Brief Article)
May 22, 2000... The Commission order with Duke Energy Corporation -- requiring the company divest 3000 gas pipelines in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas -- is final [FTC: WATCH 542, April 10]. Commissioner Thomas B. Leary did not participate. REFERENCE: May 9...

Exxon Mobil applies to divest jet turbine oil business & O.K. base oil supply agreements.(Brief Article)
May 22, 2000... Exxon Mobil applied for Commission approval to divest the Exxon jet turbine oil business to BP Exploration and Oil Inc. a subsidiary of BP Amoco plc. as required under their divestiture order with the FTC. Send comments to the FTC Office of the...

Calendar.(Brief Article)
May 22, 2000... May 24 - U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson will hold a remedy hearing in the Microsoft case at 10:00am in Courtroom No. 2 May 25 - Assistant Attorney General Joel I. Klein will be the keynote speaker at the Counselors Annual...