ANALYSIS: Will Antitrust Enforcers Wield a Scalpel or a Sword?

Some accuse modern antitrust enforcers of being on a crusade. The enforcers probably wouldn’t disagree with that assessment.

We’re in the middle of an enforcement shift that is based on reassessing the risks and rewards of mergers and on struggling to regulate digital markets. For many enforcing jurisdictions, that’s meant new legislation that will be coming into force in 2024. It’s also meant new policies and enforcement agendas.

Accordingly, companies face heightened enforcement, uncertainty, and diverging conditions across (and within) jurisdictions. It’s still unknown how these new laws will be enforced, how effective they will be at deterrence, and whether ...