A Top Antitrust Enforcer Is Open To Prosecuting People Who Disagree With Him
The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Mark Meador recently insinuated that his agency may investigate nonprofits and academic institutions that object to antitrust enforcement actions without disclosing their donors for deceptive practices. While Meador may think it’s OK to probe parties for disagreeing with him, the FTC’s consumer protection remit does not sanction prosecuting those who reject the commissioner’s antitrust ideology…
John Vecchione, senior litigation counsel for the New Civil Liberties Alliance, says that what Meador proposes the FTC do runs afoul of the Supreme Court’s decision in National Rifle Association of American v. Vullo (2024). In this case, the Court unanimously ruled that “the First Amendment prohibits government officials from wielding their power selectively to punish or suppress speech.” Vecchione says that, were the FTC to investigate nonprofits for their speech, it “would be stopped so fast your head would spin.”
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May 22, 2025
Originally Published in Reason