Key Takeaways
- • FTC Commissioner Mark Meador, speaking on Sept. 14 at George Washington University Law School's Bill Kovacic Antitrust Salon, called for stand-alone Section 5 enforcement, according to attorneys at Axinn writing in Law360.
- • Axinn attorneys say recent FTC cases and Meador's remarks signal continued scrutiny of conduct beyond traditional antitrust violations.
- • Enforcement focus is expected to extend particularly to essential goods, technology and labor markets.
- • Meador framed the debate over the FTC's future as a question raised by the Supreme Court's decision in Trump v. Slaughter.
Summary
Federal Trade Commissioner Mark Meador spoke on Sept. 14 at George Washington University Law School's Bill Kovacic Antitrust Salon, where he called for stand-alone enforcement of Section 5 of the FTC Act, the agency's authority to police unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts, according to an analysis by Richard Dagen, Matthew Levinton and William Davis of Axinn, published in Law360 on October 15, 2026.
Meador opened his remarks by posing a question he said many have been asking since the Supreme Court's decision in Trump v. Slaughter: what is the future of the FTC? The Axinn attorneys read his call for stand-alone Section 5 action, together with the body of FTC cases brought over the last several years, as a signal that businesses should prepare for continued regulatory scrutiny of conduct that falls outside traditional antitrust violations.
The authors say that scrutiny is likely to be most pronounced in essential goods, technology and labor markets. Companies operating in those sectors should expect the agency to continue using Section 5 as an independent enforcement tool rather than relying solely on conventional antitrust statutes.
The source article is a subscriber-only Law360 piece, and the excerpt available for this summary does not detail specific enforcement actions, case names beyond the Slaughter reference, or penalty figures.
Meador opened his remarks by posing a question he said many have been asking since the Supreme Court's decision in Trump v. Slaughter: what is the future of the FTC? The Axinn attorneys read his call for stand-alone Section 5 action, together with the body of FTC cases brought over the last several years, as a signal that businesses should prepare for continued regulatory scrutiny of conduct that falls outside traditional antitrust violations.
The authors say that scrutiny is likely to be most pronounced in essential goods, technology and labor markets. Companies operating in those sectors should expect the agency to continue using Section 5 as an independent enforcement tool rather than relying solely on conventional antitrust statutes.
The source article is a subscriber-only Law360 piece, and the excerpt available for this summary does not detail specific enforcement actions, case names beyond the Slaughter reference, or penalty figures.
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