Pull to refresh
Logo
Daily Brief
Following Why Sign Up
Andrew N. Ferguson

Andrew N. Ferguson

Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission of the United States

Appears in 5 stories

Born: 1986 (age 39 years), Harrisonburg, VA
Party: Republican Party
Office: Commissioner of the United States Federal Trade Commission
Education: University of Virginia

Notable Quotes

The FTC must get out of the way quickly when a merger would not violate antitrust laws, to avoid bogging down innovation and interfering with the free market.

All of Big Tech is going to remain under the microscope. We're going to hold Big Tech's feet to the fire.

Andrew will be the most America First, and pro-innovation FTC Chair in our Country's History. (Trump's statement)

Stories

Federal Trade Commission settles with Match Group over OkCupid's secret data pipeline to a facial recognition firm

Rule Changes

Oversaw the settlement authorization

In 2014, OkCupid quietly funneled nearly three million user photos — along with demographic and location data — to Clarifai, a facial recognition startup backed by OkCupid's own co-founders. Users never consented. OkCupid's privacy policy said this wouldn't happen. When a New York Times article exposed the arrangement five years later, OkCupid publicly denied it.

Updated Mar 30

Sysco bets $29 billion on Restaurant Depot to reshape food distribution

Money Moves

Will oversee antitrust review of the deal

Sysco, the company that delivers food to roughly one in every six restaurants in America, announced on March 30 that it would buy Jetro Restaurant Depot—the nation's largest cash-and-carry wholesaler—for $29.1 billion. The deal would combine Sysco's truck-based delivery empire with Restaurant Depot's 166 warehouse stores where independent restaurant owners walk in, load a cart, and pay cash. If approved, it would create an omnichannel food distribution giant serving more than a million customers through both delivery and self-service.

Updated Mar 30

Federal Trade Commission's expanded merger notification rules face legal challenge

Rule Changes

Leading FTC's appeal of the district court ruling

The Hart-Scott-Rodino premerger notification form went largely unchanged for 48 years. When the Federal Trade Commission tripled its compliance burden in 2024, business groups sued—and a Texas federal judge just agreed with them.

Updated Feb 18

US merger notification thresholds rise amid regulatory turbulence

Rule Changes

Serving as FTC Chair since January 2025

The United States raised the minimum deal size requiring federal antitrust review to $133.9 million on February 15, 2026—up from $126.4 million the previous year. Companies planning mergers or acquisitions above this threshold must now file premerger notifications with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) and wait for government clearance before closing their deals.

Updated Feb 16

The great AI deregulation

Rule Changes

Appointed January 20, 2025

The FTC just tore up its own rulebook. On December 22, 2025, the agency voted 2-0 to reverse a year-old enforcement action against Rytr, an AI writing tool accused of enabling fake reviews. The reason? The original case 'unduly burdens AI innovation' and violates Trump's AI Action Plan. Yet on the same day, the agency sent warning letters to 10 companies for suspected fake review violations, threatening civil penalties up to $53,088 per violation.

Updated Dec 29, 2025