Monthly Monopoly Digest – September 2026

September 24, 2026 Anti-Monopoly Policies & EnforcementCompetition Policy Digest
By Morgan Harper, Phillip Berenbroick, & Milena Bimpong

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

Admin

  • CYCLE OF CORRUPTION AT DOJ CONTINUES. There has been a “mass exodus” of lawyers from the Antitrust Division in recent months, amid leadership upheaval and allegations of corruption. Earlier this year Antitrust Chief Gail Slater resigned, and AG Pam Bondi was fired. The leadership vacuum began to be filled in August when the Senate narrowly confirmed Todd Blanche as AG, despite the fact his tenure as Deputy AG was engulfed by corruption allegations related to merger review to benefit MAGA lobbyists. Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to advance current FCC General Counsel Adam Candeub’s nomination to lead the Antitrust Division where he has been a loyal Brendan Carr foot soldier, signing off on blatantly anticompetitive transactions like the Nexstar/Tegna merger and the FCC’s attacks on free speech that have met with bipartisan condemnation. Mr. Candeub did nothing to rehabilitate this pro-consolidation track record at this August confirmation hearing. Despite not yet being confirmed, it appears he is already working at DOJ. 

Housing 

  • ZILLOW SAYS IT’S BUSINESS AS USUAL AFTER FTC SETTLEMENT. Sky-high housing costs continue to plague American households. In July, median rental prices rose 2.3%, the largest jump in a year. In August, just before trial, the Trump FTC and five states settled their lawsuit against Zillow and Redfin for conspiring to eliminate competition in the market for online apartment listings. The lawsuit alleged Zillow paid $100 million for Redfin to shut down its internet apartment listing service business and stay out of the market for up to nine years, which the FTC said would increase rental prices. While the Trump FTC claimed the settlement would eliminate the anticompetitive provisions of the Zillow/Redfin agreement, Zillow issued a press release reaffirming its partnership with Redfin, suggesting few changes. Economic Liberties, Demand Progress, and other advocacy organizations are calling on state AGs to investigate. 

 

  • COMPASS EXTENDS DOMINANCE THROUGH PRIVATE REAL ESTATE LISTINGS. In January, Compass became the world’s largest real estate brokerage after the Trump DOJ approved its merger with Anywhere amid a cloud of corruption. Now, Compass is using its expanded market power to force sellers to list properties exclusively on Compass. House Judiciary Committee Antitrust Subcommittee Chair Scott Fitzgerald (R-WI) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) are investigating. In August, Economic Liberties released state model legislation to crack down on the proliferation of private real estate listings.

 

  • FTC BLOCKS CONSTRUCTION MERGER. According to the National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB), construction costs account for 64.4% of a new home’s sale price. As of July, the cost of home construction materials was up 6.7% over the prior year, with smaller home builders being the hardest hit by rising costs. In August after a 7-day trial, the FTC successfully blocked Henkel, the German manufacturer of the industry-leader Loctite brand of construction adhesives, from acquiring Liquid Nails, Loctite’s primary competitor. This is one of the few actions the Trump FTC has taken to trial. The transaction was valued at $765 million and would have eliminated competition and driven up the cost of construction materials. 

Airlines 

Reining in Big Tech 

  • AI CONCERNS HIT FEVER PITCH.  Concerns about AI safety have swirled for years, but panic hit new heights to end the summer. In July, OpenAI agents escaped their testing sandbox and hacked Hugging Face, an AI information repository company, known as the “GitHub of AI.” Earlier this month, a former OpenAI and Anthropic researcher resigned and warned that uncontrollable AI models threaten humanity. In response, OpenAI cancelled a planned IPO this year and Anthropic delayed its IPO to November. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and Elon Musk have also now called for a slowdown in AI development, citing safety concerns, which President Trump shot down. Meanwhile, Sens. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Jim Banks have pushed to give AI labs an antitrust exemption in the NDAA. Former Trump AI Czar David Sacks dismissed the need for an antitrust exemption, as did FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson and former DOJ Antitrust Chief Jonathan Kanter. Instead, former FTC Chair Lina Khan emphasized that enforcement agencies should use existing laws to police harms by AI firms, while evaluating what additional tools are necessary. Meanwhile, leading AI chipmaker NVIDIA announced a plan to acquire Hugging Face, the most important open source AI model hub, for nearly $13 billion, which could give NVIDIA control of a key distribution layer for AI and the ability to favor its own hardware and software products.

 

  • GOOGLE SEARCH REMEDIES ON APPEAL. In 2024, a federal district court judge ruled that Google was guilty of illegally monopolizing 90% of the online search market through anticompetitive means, but the court later imposed remedies that allowed Google to continue its monopoly.. Earlier this year, the Trump DOJ appealed the remedy decision. Last month, Economic Liberties filed an amicus brief calling for stronger remedies, including prohibiting Google from paying Apple and Samsung to make Google the default search engine on their devices. Oral arguments are expected in early 2027, and appeals could eventually reach the Supreme Court.

 

  • COURT TURNS BLIND EYE TO GOOGLE’S ADTECH MONOPOLY. In 2023, the DOJ and several state attorneys general sued Google for illegally monopolizing digital advertising technologies (adtech), driving up costs for advertisers and consumers, and killing local news. In April 2025, a federal district court found Google guilty. The Trump DOJ under then-Attorney General Pam Bondi, and at the time led by Antitrust Chief Gail Slater, urged the court to break up Google’s adtech monopoly. However, earlier this month the court imposed only behavioral remedies like requiring data sharing, permitting Google to retain control over the adtech market. The now Todd Blanche-led DOJ celebrated the remedies as “substantial,” making it unlikely they will appeal. In response, Economic Liberties is calling on Congress to pass Sen. Mike Lee’s (R-UT) bipartisan AMERICA Act, which would eliminate conflicts of interest, require transparency, and stop companies like Google from controlling multiple layers of the adtech market.


  • BIG TECH RECKONING FOR ENDANGERING KIDS ONLINE. Momentum against Big Tech’s exploitation of kids continued over the summer. In New Mexico, Meta is facing nearly a billion dollars in penalties and damages for violating state law, misleading users about the safety of its services, enabling child sexual exploitation on those platforms. The DOJ secured a $400 million settlement with TikTok, its parent company ByteDance, and other affiliates to settle allegations the company violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). However, the DOJ’s proposed settlement would end FTC oversight of TikTok, a provision the federal judge overseeing the case appears prepared to reject. A coalition of state attorneys general settled litigation with Meta over harm the platform’s Facebook and Instagram platforms caused to children’ s mental health. Meta will pay up to $18 billion to settle the case and be required to institute stronger child-safety measures. The settlement does not release Meta from potential criminal liability. Florida Attorney General James Ultmeier said he will continue to litigate, calling the $18 billion settlement a “slap on the wrist for a trillion-dollar corp.” Economic Liberties applauded the settlement as an important first step but emphasized legislation is needed.  


  • FTC & STATES SUE AMAZON FOR OVERCHARGING SELLERS. For years, sellers have complained about inflated costs to advertise on Amazon’s marketplace. In August, the FTC and 22 states sued Amazon for unfair and deceptive advertising practices that charged sellers billions of dollars for bogus costs, leading to higher consumer prices. The FTC declined to allege the company’s practices were an unfair method of competition, despite Amazon competing directly against many of the sellers it overcharges. Separately, Amazon will face off with the FTC and states in a federal antitrust trial in 2027 for allegations it abused its monopoly power to prevent e-commerce rivals and sellers from lowering prices, a lawsuit originally filed under former FTC Chair Lina Khan.

Trade

  • U.S.-CANADA TARIFF SKIRMISH IS ABOUT POLITICS, NOT ECONOMICS. Last year, the U.S. imposed a series of tariffs on goods from Canada. Canada initially retaliated, and last month President Trump responded with a new 50% tariff on $20 billion of Canadian imports. Canada has since responded with new tariffs on $20 billion of U.S. goods. In reality, neither set of tariffs will have a significant impact on consumer prices since the Canadian tariffs cover less than half a percent of U.S.  imports and the U.S. tariffs cover less than 5% of Canadian exports to the U.S. Experts speculate Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is using the tariff fight to distract from controversial and unpopular domestic policies and decisions while President Trump is likely covering for the unpopular war with Iran and high prices plaguing American consumers. 

 

  • U.S. HAS A REAL TRADE PROBLEM WITH CHINA, SUMMIT THIS WEEK.  Chinese Premier Xi Jinping has arrived in Washington for a September 24 summit with President Trump. At the last China summit, Trump cut tariffs for China, authorized exports of sensitive technology, and suspended U.S. port fees on Chinese vessels for a year. China is expected to seek an extension of those concessions. In August, China’s trade surplus with the U.S. hit more than $29 billion, up almost 44% from a year ago and the widest monthly gap since President Trump returned to office. China also blocked this month’s G20 finance meeting declaration over language urging countries with “excessive” surpluses to correct course. These issues, along with ongoing concerns with China around AI safety pose a test for the Trump Administration.

 

  • TRUMP’S BEEF TARIFF WAIVER BENEFITS DONORS, NOT CONSUMERS. Beef prices have risen significantly during the Trump Administration, increasing from just over $5.50 to around $7 per pound between January 2025 and August 2026. Last month, President Trump announced he would waive tariffs and quotas for 660 million pounds of imported beef. President Trump claimed the imports would provide relief from rising prices, though Rethink Trade has shown that U.S. consumer beef prices continued to rise after past cuts to beef tariffs and expanded imports due to high levels of corporate concentration in beef markets. The waiver followed two meetings, one between President Trump and Joesley Batista, head of Brazilian firm JBS, the world’s largest meatpacker, in the Oval Office on August 20 – a day before the latest waiver was announced. A JBS subsidiary also gave $5 million, the largest donation, to President Trump’s 2026 inauguration. The waiver angered ranchers who are struggling to stay afloat as well as ag industry trade associations, and farm-state Republicans on Capitol Hill. The additional imports will come from Brazil and Argentina after the European Union and other markets recently banned beef from those countries because of safety concerns. U.S. consumers won’t be able to tell whether they’re buying imports or domestic  beef – a 2014 WTO ruling and subsequent 2015 congressional repeal eliminated mandatory country-of-origin labeling for beef. Earlier this year, lawmakers in Congress, led by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Rep. Primila Jayapal (D-WA), introduced the Family Grocery and Farmer Relief Act to address the structural problems plaguing the beef market by breaking up the largest meatpackers. 

Utilities 

  • NEXTERA AND DOMINION MERGER FIGHT INTENSIFIES. NextEra Energy’s proposed acquisition of Virginia’s Dominion Energy would create the world’s largest regulated utility and likely drive up electricity rates throughout the South. Senator Angus King (I-ME) has called for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to block the deal, while five New England governors also announced their opposition, highlighting the combined company would control significant energy resources, including New England’s two nuclear power plants that supply nearly a quarter of the region’s electricity. Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger formally intervened in the State Corporation Commission’s (SCC) merger review, and Attorney General Jay Jones has called on the SCC to extend its review. The Chair of the SCC has declined to recuse herself despite most recently working as a NextEra attorney. Amid this growing scrutiny, NextEra announced customer bill credits and job commitments, and Amazon and Google have intervened in support of the merger. For more background, check out  Economic Liberties’ brief explaining why regulators should block the merger.  

 

  • CONGRESS RAMPS UP UTILITY ADVOCACY. Last year, Rep. Josh Riley (D-NY) became one of the first members of Congress to intervene directly in a utility rate case involving New York State Electric & Gas, cross-examining New York State Electric and Gas (NYSEG) executives under oath on rate hikes that fueled profits for NYSEG’s foreign parent company. Last month, Rep. Riley hosted a roundtable on utility costs in Binghamton, NY highlighting steps Congress can take to lower Americans’ electric bills, during which Economic Liberties Senior Fellow Marissa Gillett was featured as a speaker. Now, Rep. Maggie Goodlander (D-NH), also a member of the Lowering Utility Bills Caucus, is intervening as the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission considers Liberty Utilities’ proposed $35.8 million rate hike request, something the consumer advocate in the state called,”ballsy.” Last year, Economic Liberties published a guide for how lawmakers can intervene in state electric utility ratemaking proceedings, which ost states allow. Separately, both Reps. Riley and Goodlander are co-sponsors of the Lowering Utility Bills Act, led by Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX), which would cap utility profits and lower consumer bills by $500 a year. 

Lowering Prices

  • WHILE FTC DITHERS, OPPOSITION TO SURVEILLANCE PRICING GROWS. Focus groups and polling show that an overwhelming number of Americans hate surveillance pricing and want the practice banned.  Before leaving office in early 2025, former Chair Lina Khan’s FTC released initial findings from a market study on surveillance pricing. Chair Ferguson shut down public comment on surveillance pricing days after President Trump’s inauguration. Now, the FTC is seeking comment on a new enforcement plan that would allow companies to engage in the practice subject to transparency requirements. Congress is more skeptical. Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX) and Sen. Ruben Gallego have introduced legislation to ban surveillance pricing. House Energy & Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone (D-NJ) sent letters to eight U.S. airlines, requesting information about their surveillance pricing practices. In August, the Senate, Judiciary Committee’s Crime and Counterterrorism Subcommittee led by Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) held a hearing on the topic, featuring testimony from Economic Liberties Senior Legal Counsel Lee Hepner, who has also co-authored a brief explaining how to ensure such legislation isn’t undermined by loopholes. Check out former FTC Chief Technologist Stephanie Nguyen’s New York Times Op-Ed for more on the prevalence of surveillance pricing in the economy.


  • EGG PRODUCERS GET OVER EASY FOR ILLEGAL PRICE FIXING SCHEME. Egg prices soared between early 2024 and early 2025, peaking at a record high of $6.23 per dozen. At the time, economists and market analysts attributed the sharp rise in prices to bird flu. However, after the DOJ began an investigation into the largest egg producers in 2025, prices dropped significantly. In June, the DOJ and 17 state attorney generals announced they had settled an antitrust lawsuit against the nation’s largest egg producers for conspiring to increase prices. The settlement requires the companies not to re-engage in price fixing, adopt antitrust compliance programs, and pay minimal fines. Cal-Maine, one of the egg producers, reported a $1.22 billion profit for 2025, but will only pay $1.5 million under the settlement agreement and donate 30 million eggs. The other companies, Versova and Hickman’s Egg Ranch, whose financials are not reported, must pay $800,000 and donate 20 million eggs and $1 million and 3.25 million eggs, respectively. Economic Liberties has called on Congress to hold hearings to investigate egg producers and why the DOJ settled a billion-dollar price fixing scheme for sums equivalent to rounding errors for the companies.

Improving Healthcare

  • BANNING PRIOR AUTHORIZATION SAVES LIVES AND DOLLARS. Prior authorization – when health insurers require plan members to obtain their approval before getting care – taking up more clinicians’ time and costs $32.7 billion annually. According to the American Medical Association, more than one in four physicians say prior authorization has led to serious patient harms. A new Economic Liberties report proposes banning the practice and cites a recent poll finding that 71% of U.S. voters — including a supermajority of both Democrats (76%) and Republicans (69%) — would support legislation prohibiting private insurers from using prior authorization at all. In an MSNOW op-ed, former Economic Liberties Senior Fellow Hannah Garden-Monheit detailed her experience with UnitedHealth Group’s byzantine prior authorization requirements while her father died from cancer.


  • BREAK UP BIG MEDICINE TO LOWER HEALTHCARE COSTS. Gallup recently reported that Americans’ ability to afford healthcare is at a five-year low, with only 49% of U.S. adults able to afford access to quality healthcare and pay for prescriptions and doctors appointments. And employers are expecting 2027 to have the highest increase in health insurance costs in at least two decades. This summer, Economic Liberties released a comprehensive healthcare policy agenda to address these harms and save families $6,000 a year. Two ideas in the agenda have recently already gotten traction. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Rep. Val Hoyle (D-OR), and others introduced the Stop Corporate Takeovers of Physicians Act to ensure healthcare decisions are made by licensed professionals, not shareholders. On the campaign trail, Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico unveiled a plan with Mark Cuban to break up Big Medicine monopolies.

Media

  • CALI AG BONTA & GOV. NEWSOM CAVE TO PARAMOUNT & THE ELLISONS. Since Paramount announced its proposed acquisition of Warner Brothers, industry workers, writers, actors, and advocates called for antitrust enforcers to block the merger. Economic Liberties explained why the transaction was likely illegal under the antitrust laws. In June, the Trump DOJ greenlit the deal, benefiting key donor Larry Ellison and his son David. The FCC approved allowing sovereign wealth funds from Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Qatar to own up to 100% of a combined Paramount/WBD. Deal opponents were optimistic when 11 state AGs, led by California’s Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit to block the deal and won a temporary restraining order. In response, Paramount threatened to leave California and move CBS News out of New York, and Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called for Bonta to settle. This week, despite previously saying he would do “whatever it takes” to stop the illegal transaction, AG Bonta caved, claiming his negotiated settlement would protect California jobs and CNN/CBS News editorial independence. Economic Liberties disagreed with the settlement, explaining behavioral remedies are usually ineffective at stopping harms from consolidation. Private parties intend to file amicus briefs to challenge the merger.

Right to Repair

  • PROGRESS ON RIGHT-TO-REPAIR CONTINUES. Making repairs instead of simply replacing products helps households save an average of $330 per year, and according to the Repair Association, 84% of Americans support laws that enable people to repair products they own. States are increasingly enacting right-to-repair laws, with new statutes going into effect this year in Texas, Connecticut, Kansas, Washington, and Colorado. In January 2025, the Lina Khan FTC and attorneys general from Illinois and Minnesota sued Deere & Company over unfair practices that drove up equipment repair costs and made it impractical for farmers to repair their equipment, such as tractors. In July, the Trump FTC and the states (Arizona, Michigan, and Wisconsin also joined the case), settled, requiring Deere make its repair tools and software available to farmers and independent repair shops on the same terms it provides to authorized Deere dealers. 

Merger Mix 

  • OPPOSITION AGAINST SYSCO MERGER GROWS. Sysco’s proposed $29.1 billion acquisition of Jetro Restaurant Depot, will eliminate competition and is likely to increase food costs for independent restaurants. Sysco is the largest food wholesaler to restaurants while Restaurant Depot is the largest wholesaler to small and independent restaurants. In August, Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) called on the FTC to conduct a thorough investigation of the merger and warned it would further consolidate an already highly concentrated U.S. food supply chain, raising costs on restaurants and consumers. Reps. Maxwell Frost (D-FL) and Jerry Nadler (D-NY), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee’s Antitrust Subcommittee, also raised concerns and urged the DOJ and FTC to closely examine the deal. The transaction is opposed by the Independent Restaurant Coalition, as well as the IFMA The Food Away from Home Association, which represents foodservice companies. In response to this opposition, Sysco’s CEO went on a media blitz to boost confidence that the merger will close.


  • RAIL MERGER ON THE WRONG TRACK.  Union Pacific Railroad’s planned takeover of Norfolk Southern Railway would combine two of the nation’s four largest railroads and create the nation’s largest railway. Economic Liberties has explained the transaction would eliminate competition and harm rail customers, workers and businesses that rely on the railroads, and that the Surface Transportation Board (STB) should block the deal. In July, Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) led 23 Senators writing to the STB raising serious concerns about the merger’s impact on competition, workers, and rail safety. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) also wrote to the STB warning that Union Pacific may retaliate against shippers and other rail stakeholders who do not publicly support the merger, highlighting that Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena reportedly made remarks at conferences and closed door meetings threatening to retaliate against merger opponents. In August, the National Feed and Grain Association filed a petition urging the STB to reject the rail merger. The STB has issued a procedural schedule for its transaction review and will  accept public comments until November 18, 2026. 

Sports

  • LABOR, CONSUMER, ANTITRUST GROUPS OPPOSE CONGRESS’ NCAA GIVEAWAY. In 2021, a unanimous Supreme Court in NCAA v. Alston affirmed that the NCAA violated federal antitrust laws when it placed limits on the education-related benefits schools can provide college athletes. Since then, the NCAA has pushed Congress to give it an exemption from the antitrust laws and to strip athletes of legal protections won in court. The House has repeatedly abandoned attempts to pass the SCORE Act amid bipartisan opposition, but the Senate appears poised to pass the legislation this week. Economic Liberties rebutted the bill supporters’ claims and joined a letter with antitrust enforcers, consumer advocates, and labor groups raising concerns about the legislation, and the bill is opposed by college athletes, labor groups, civil rights organizations, the Congressional Black Caucus.

ICYMI

  • Following a recent report, Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Rick Scott (R-FL) asked the FTC to investigate whether Amazon and Walmart are suppressing Made in the USA products from AI shopping chatbot search results and allowing companies to fraudulently label their products as Made in the USA.

 

 

  • The DOJ Antitrust Division is investigating Silicon Valley venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz over whether partners in the firm are illegally serving on the boards of directors of competing artificial intelligence firms, such as Databricks and Fivetran. 

 

 

 

 

  • Congressional Democrats wrote to the DOJ with concerns about Fox’s $22 billion acquisition of streaming video platform Roku and called on the Antitrust Division to conduct an impartial review, free from political interference.

 

 

 

  • A federal judge rebuked Nexstar and its attorneys for stacking Tegna’s board with Nexstar executives while the merger has been put on hold by a state AG lawsuit. The judge previously ordered Tegna to continue to operate independently pending trial. 

 

  • Wake County, North Carolina approved Atrium Health’s, a non-profit hospital system in North Carolina, purchase of competitor WakeMed. Break Up Big Medicine Coalition member Patients Union opposed the transaction due to concerns it would cause healthcare costs to rise.

 

  • Recent Congressional Budget Office analysis shows that by 2033, health insurers operating Medicare Advantage plans will be overpaid by more than $1 trillion.

 

  • The FCC voted to override federal statute and eliminate the restriction limiting local television ownership groups from reaching more than 39% of U.S. households. 

 

  • Economic Liberties and the Break Up Ticketmaster Coalition, along with Progressive Policy Institute and others filed Tunney Act comments urging a federal district court to reject DOJ’s corrupt settlement in the Live Nation-Ticketmaster antitrust litigation. 

 

  • Seattle became the first U.S. city to prohibit grocery stores from using surveillance pricing to set different prices for individual customers.

 

  • Economic Liberties Director of State and Local Policy Pat Garofalo appeared on MSNow to discuss the growing backlash against data centers in red and blue states.

 

  • Economic Liberties filed an objection to a proposed settlement of class action consumer swipe fee antitrust litigation against Visa and Mastercard because the settlement will enable the payment network giants to continue to coordinate prices.