U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division

Rule Changes

Settled its RealPage case; monitorship running

A federal judge in Nashville gave final approval to settlements totaling $359,925,000 from 41 apartment landlords accused of using RealPage's pricing software to push rents above competitive levels. RealPage, the company that sold the software, paid nothing.

Updated 4 days ago

Rule Changes

Cross-appealing for a ban on default-search payments; states filed their reply brief on October 29, 2026

Google told the D.C. Circuit on October 19 that its default-search deals with Apple and Mozilla were lawful competition, not exclusion, in its last brief before oral argument. The company is appealing both the 2024 finding that it illegally maintained a search monopoly and the remedies Judge Amit Mehta ordered in 2025.

Updated 4 days ago

Money Moves

Reviewed the deal, accepted a divestiture, will monitor the sale

Vistra finished buying Cogentrix Energy on October 30, adding ten natural gas plants and 5,496 megawatts to a fleet that now reaches nearly 50,000 megawatts. The deal was announced in January at a net price of about $4.0 billion.

Updated Nov 1

Rule Changes

Investigating whether the networks' coverage suspension violated antitrust law

Five major television networks suspended their White House pool coverage in September after the administration barred CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the grounds. The Justice Department is investigating whether that collective suspension violated federal antitrust law.

Updated Oct 20

Rule Changes

As of September 2026: Plaintiff in ad tech case; sought breakup, lost at remedy stage

A federal judge ruled on September 2, 2026, that Google can keep its advertising exchange and ad server. Judge Leonie Brinkema of the Eastern District of Virginia rejected the Justice Department's request to force a breakup, instead ordering changes to how Google runs its ad technology business—most of the behavioral remedies the two sides proposed.

Updated Sep 5

Rule Changes

As of May 2026: Joint merger review authority with FTC

The United States raised the federal antitrust review threshold 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 file premerger notifications with the FTC and DOJ and await government clearance before closing.

Updated May 29

Rule Changes

As of May 2026: Prosecuting monopolization case against Apple, survived motion to dismiss

Apple controls what apps you can install, what features they can offer, and how much they cost. On January 8, 2026, the Ninth Circuit ruled that's perfectly legal—at least when it comes to shutting out a competitor's heart monitoring app. The decision caps a five-year battle with medical device maker AliveCor, which claimed Apple killed its SmartRhythm app by changing the Apple Watch heart rate algorithm in 2018. Judge Michelle Friedland held that Apple had no obligation to share its technology with rivals, invoking the rarely-successful refusal-to-deal defense. The same day, India doubled down on its right to impose antitrust penalties based on Apple's $380 billion global revenue, not just its Indian earnings, putting the company at risk of a $38 billion fine.

Updated May 19