The FTC’s chief assailed government regulations.

Federal Trade Commission Chairman Daniel Oliver charged that government rules are the principal antagonist to competition, which he termed “one of the linchpins of a free society.” In general, Oliver said, competition is the best way to allocate society’s resources for maximum consumer welfare. Restraints on competition misallocate resources, he said, and the main source of such restraints is government. Oliver said he will support modifying or vacating past FTC orders that restrain competition.