Democrats introducing measure expanding judiciary’s role in antitrust settlements

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) plans to introduce a bill Tuesday that would give the courts a larger role in reviewing antitrust settlements following concerns about the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) recent settlement with Live Nation.

The legislation, referred to as the Antitrust Accountability and Transparency Act, would give judges more time to review antitrust settlements, require the government to disclose more information about the settlement process and give state attorneys general the ability to intervene in the judicial review process. The bill was first reported by Semafor.

“When the government prosecutes antitrust violations, the goal should be to uphold the law, lower prices, and protect consumers and small businesses,” Klobuchar said in a statement.

“In the recent settlement between the Department of Justice and Live Nation, it is clear the American people got the raw end of the deal,” she continued. “This bill—which has support from antitrust enforcers from both sides of the aisle—ensures that courts have the tools to independently review settlements and approve only those that benefit the American people.”

Klobuchar’s bill, which is co-sponsored by eight other Democratic senators and is joined by companion legislation in the House from Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), comes a week after the DOJ announced its settlement with Live Nation, the parent company of Ticketmaster.

The agency sued the ticketing companies in 2024, accusing them of blocking competition in the live entertainment industry.

The parties were about a week into trial when they unveiled the settlement, which would require Live Nation to end long-term exclusive booking agreements with 13 amphitheaters, reserve 50 percent of tickets for promoters that do not have exclusive agreements with the company and cap ticketing service fees at 15 percent, among other provisions.

In announcing the settlement, a senior Justice official argued that while they were “confident the jurors would side with us,” continuing with litigation would leave the door open to appeals and “waiting years and years and years for relief.”

Their focus with the agreement was getting “the American fan relief as fast as possible,” the official said at the time.

The settlement immediately faced pushback from many of the states involved in the case, with 27 attorneys general vowing to continue without the federal government. Several Democratic lawmakers also raised concerns about the effectiveness of the agreement and its timing, underscoring the recent departure of the DOJ’s antitrust head, Gail Slater.

The new legislation would require the government to provide information about how the settlement resolves the antitrust issues at hand, as well as details about previous settlement offers and side-deals and all communications related to the settlement.

It would also give the court 90 days to review a settlement before a merger can proceed, in addition to requiring it to consider whether allowing a merger “threatens to violate the antitrust laws” and whether the settlement is “reasonably related” to antitrust concerns.

The bill would also expand the Tunney Act, which governs the judicial review process for proposed consent decrees in DOJ antitrust cases, to cover the Federal Trade Commission and allow states to intervene in Tunney Act hearings.

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