The Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice are now accepting public commentary after the most recent guideline draft update.

This update is designed to regulate the abilities of mergers and acquisition deals to protect U.S. market competition. The comment period will remain open until Sept. 18, according to a July 20 report on GovConWire.

“These updated merger guidelines respond to modern market realities and will enable the Justice Department to transparently and effectively protect the American people from the damage that anticompetitive mergers cause,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said to GovConWire.

The changes were proposed as part of a list of changes for Hart-Scott-Rodino Act filing process, designed to better examine M&A deals and clear it of any potential competition threats, GovConWire reported.

The 13 guidelines will help determine is a proposed merger deal complies with the federal antitrust regulations, according to the GovConWire report. They can help assess any risk to commerce the business combination might pose.

Mergers are not intended to "significantly increase concentration in highly concentrated markets," GovConWire reported. It also should not eliminate substantial competition between firms, increase risks of coordination or substantially lessen competition. These guidelines should help protect against monopolies.

“Open, competitive, resilient markets have been a bedrock of America’s economic success and dynamism throughout our nation’s history. Faithful and vigorous enforcement of the antitrust laws is key to maintaining that success,” FTC Chair Lina M. Khan said in a July 19 news release. “With these draft Merger Guidelines, we are updating our enforcement manual to reflect the realities of how firms do business in the modern economy. Informed by thousands of public comments — spanning healthcare workers, farmers, patient advocates, musicians and entrepreneurs — these guidelines contain critical updates while ensuring fidelity to the mandate Congress has given us and the legal precedent on the books.”