States have important antitrust role despite politicization risk, US FTC chair says
By Flavia Fortes ( September 22, 2026, 20:36 GMT | Insight) -- US Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson said state attorneys general have an “important role to play” in antitrust enforcement, while warning that elected officials can sometimes use merger cases for political posturing. Ferguson pointed to the states’ recent settlement of their challenge to Paramount Skydance’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery as an example of that risk. “A fair amount of soapboxing and not a ton of law enforcement” characterized the states’ Paramount case, Ferguson said, adding that the settlement they obtained was “probably more than that case deserved.”State attorneys general have an “important role to play” in antitrust enforcement, while warning that elected officials can sometimes use merger cases for political posturing, US Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson said Tuesday....
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