On March 27, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice launched the Anticompetitive Regulations Task Force. The Task Force is soliciting public input concerning regulations that may hinder competition. I wonder if IP-related laws will be examined. The Press Release states:
Today, the Justice Department launches an Anticompetitive
Regulations Task Force to advocate for the elimination of anticompetitive state
and federal laws and regulations that undermine free market competition and
harm consumers, workers, and businesses. The Antitrust Division has a long
history of advocacy against laws and regulations that create unnecessary
barriers to competition. The Task Force will surge resources to these
efforts and invite public comments to support the Administration’s mission to unwind
laws and regulations that hinder business dynamism and make markets less
competitive.
“Realizing President Trump’s economic Golden Age will require
unwinding burdensome regulations that stifle free market competition. This
Antitrust Division will stand against harmful barriers to competition whether
imposed by public regulators or private monopolists,” said Assistant Attorney
General Abigail Slater of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “We look
forward to working with the public and with other federal agencies to identify
and eliminate anticompetitive laws and regulations.”
On Jan. 31, President Trump signed Executive Order 14192 declaring “the policy of the
executive branch” to be that federal agencies should “alleviate unnecessary
regulatory burdens placed on the American people.” Consistent with this policy,
on Feb. 19, President Trump signed Executive Order 14219 directing agencies to “initiate
a process to review all regulations” and identify regulations that, among other
things, “impose undue burdens on small businesses and impede private enterprise
and entrepreneurship.” Consistent with longstanding practice, the Antitrust
Division will support federal agencies’ deregulatory initiatives by sharing its
market expertise on regulations that pose the greatest barriers to economic
growth.
Regulatory capture is a well-studied phenomenon in which
agencies become “captured” by special interests and big businesses, rather than
serving the interests of the American people. But when regulations serve the
few and impose undue burdens on small businesses, private enterprise, and
entrepreneurs, they also harm competition and ultimately hurt American
consumers, workers, and businesses. For example, regulations can increase
compliance costs, preventing businesses from competing on a level playing field
with powerful corporations. Regulations can also discourage or even
intentionally prohibit small businesses and new products from entering markets
and lowering prices for American families. In contrast, eliminating unnecessary
anticompetitive regulations makes it easier for businesses to compete. More
competition empowers the American people — not government regulators — to drive
economic progress and innovation. When every American has a fair opportunity to
enjoy the benefits of competitive free markets, every American has an
opportunity to realize the American dream.
By identifying and working with state and federal agencies to
revise or eliminate these laws and regulations, the Anticompetitive Regulations
Task Force will contribute to making the American dream a reality. As a first
step, the Antitrust Division will initiate a public inquiry to identify
unnecessary laws and regulations that raise the highest barriers to
competition. In particular, the Division will seek information from the public
about laws and regulations that make it more difficult for businesses to compete
effectively, especially in markets that have the greatest impact on American
households, including:
- Housing: Americans spend more than one-third
of their monthly income on housing, and the cost of owning or renting a
home continues to rise. Laws and regulations in housing markets can
contribute to these problems by making it more difficult for companies to
build and ordinary Americans to rent or buy.
- Transportation: Laws and regulations in areas
like airlines, rail, and ocean shipping can grant antitrust immunities,
outright monopolies, or safe harbors for conduct that undermines
competition. As a result, Americans pay more for travel, fuel, and a
variety of other products.
- Food and Agriculture: By the end of the
Biden-Harris Administration, grocery prices were 27% higher than at the
end of the first Trump Administration. Eliminating unnecessary
anticompetitive regulations will help farmers, growers, and ranchers
increase the amount of food they produce and unlock lower prices for
American consumers.
- Healthcare: Laws and regulations in healthcare
markets too often discourage doctors and hospitals from providing
low-cost, high-quality healthcare and instead encourage overbilling and
consolidation. These kinds of unnecessary anticompetitive regulations put
affordable healthcare out of reach for millions of American families.
- Energy: Reliable and affordable energy is
essential to modern American life — whether in homes, businesses,
manufacturing plants, schools, hospitals, sporting events, or data
centers. Laws and regulations can undermine reliability and affordability
by protecting incumbent electricity providers from competition or
disruptive innovation.
The public will have 60 days to submit comments at www.Regulations.gov (Docket
No. ATR-2025-0001), no later than May 26. Once submitted, comments will be
posted to Regulations.gov. All market participants are invited to provide
comments in response to this inquiry, including consumers, consumer advocates,
small businesses, employers, trade groups, industry analysts, and other
entities that are impacted by anticompetitive state or federal laws and
regulations.
In addition to reviewing responses from the public, the Task
Force will bring together attorneys, economists, and other staff from across
the Division, together with interagency partners, to identify state and federal
laws and regulations that unnecessarily harm competition. The Antitrust
Division will then take appropriate action, including helping agencies revise
or eliminate these regulations.
The Task Force will also consider other ways to advocate for
the removal of anticompetitive laws and regulations. The Division routinely
files amicus briefs and statements of interests in private litigation, and it
will continue to do so to promote competition and oppose anticompetitive laws
and regulations. The Division also provides comments on proposed legislation in
the states on the request of state legislators. These efforts will continue
with an eye toward protecting competition and interstate commerce in light of
dormant Commerce Clause principles.
The Justice Department has a long history of serving as the
Executive Branch’s chief competition advocate by working with agencies to
identify and eliminate unnecessary regulations. In 2018, the Justice Department
released a
report on how regulations can harm competition. Following this report, the
Justice Department submitted dozens of comments to federal agencies supporting
efforts to eliminate unnecessary regulations and increase competition. For
example, the Justice Department, in consultation with the Federal Trade
Commission, submitted
a comment opposing regulations that would have protected
incumbent electricity transmission companies from much-needed competition in
energy markets across the country. The Justice Department filed comments aimed
at making it easier for individuals and small businesses to navigate the
federal government bureaucracy. The Justice Department also provided technical
assistance and trainings to federal agencies to help them analyze how new and
existing regulations might affect competition, or whether competition may be a
better alternative to regulation altogether.
The Anticompetitive Regulations Task Force will continue
these efforts, supporting ongoing efforts across the Trump Administration to
unleash competition by eliminating unnecessary, burdensome, and wasteful
government regulations. For more information on the Task Force, including
contact information, see Anticompetitive
Regulations Task Force page on the Division’s website.