Government by settlement

Regulators routinely use administrative settlements—agreements that impose compliance regimes, reporting duties, and behavioral restrictions—as a channel of policy-making separate from rulemaking or adjudication. Those settlements steer industry norms, create de facto regulation, and coerce firms to accept constraints because agencies can retaliate through other discretionary tools. — Recognizing settlements as a form of governance reframes debates about administrative power, accountability, and corporate incentives and suggests new levers for reform (court rules, disclosure, legislative limits).