Nessel joins bipartisan coalition supporting federal legislation to modernize antitrust enforcement, protect consumers

Michigan Attorney General Nessel joined a bipartisan coalition of 31 other attorneys general in applauding legislative proposals to modernize federal antitrust laws.

In a letter sent to House and Senate leaders, the attorneys general urged them to continue making improvements to several antitrust laws via a range of bills moving through Congress, including the continued consideration of Ending Platform Monopolies Act, the American Choice and Innovation Online Act, the Platform Competition and Opportunity Act, the Augmenting Compatibility and Competition by Enabling Service Switching (“ACCESS”) Act, the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act, and the State Antitrust Enforcement Venue Act. 

The attorneys general recommend the addition of provisions that would further protect consumers from unlawful and irresponsible mergers and business practices, and to facilitate competition and innovation.

“As efforts to modernize federal antitrust laws continue, it remains imperative that priority is given to consumer protections and ensuring continued competition and innovation,” Nessel said. “I join my colleagues in recognizing the importance of the pending legislation and stand ready to offer input as the bills go before our federal lawmakers.”

The letter notes that updated legislation is required to respond to changes in technology, decreased competition in important sectors, and undue judicial skepticism towards robust antitrust enforcement, commending the antitrust bills as steps in the right direction.

Along with these updates to Federal law, the coalition also urges Congress to include in the proposed legislation provisions confirming that the states are sovereigns that stand on equal footing with federal enforcers under federal antitrust law, including with regard to the timing of challenging anticompetitive mergers and other practices.

Joining Nessel in sending this letter are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.