Markets Wired

Federal Trade Commission Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras today presented the keynote address at the ABA Antitrust Section’s 2007 Fall Forum in Washington, DC. Entitled “Maintaining our Focus at the FTC: Recent Developments and Future Challenges in Protecting Consumers and Competition,” the Chairman’s address highlighted key aspects of the Commission’s competition agenda, focusing on industries that most directly affect consumers, such as health care, energy, technology, and retail and consumer goods.

The Chairman also announced several new initiatives that the FTC will undertake in 2008. Specifically, the Chairman announced a public workshop to be held on February 12, 2008, on unilateral effects analysis in merger review; a public event to focus on new health care models, their impact on competition, and the competitive and consumer protection issues they may raise; and that the FTC’s Internet Access Task Force will explore the competition and consumer protection issues raised by the transition of telephone service to Voice Over Internet Protocol. A copy of the keynote address can be found as a link to this press release on the FTC’s Web site.

Copies of the documents mentioned in this release are available from the FTC’s Web site at http://www.ftc.gov and from the FTC’s Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20580. Call toll-free: 1-877-FTC-HELP.