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Showing results for:  “digital markets act”

Antitrust and FCC Oversight Are Needed to Promote Broadband Deployment in the Tennessee Valley

In late June, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) sent a letter to Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter arguing that the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) needs to investigate the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and its local power companies (LPCs) on grounds that abuses of the pole-attachment process appear to be slowing broadband deployment. Given that Congress has prioritized subsidizing broadband access ... Antitrust and FCC Oversight Are Needed to Promote Broadband Deployment in the Tennessee Valley

Paul Denis on Implementing a Policy Statement on UMC

Deterrence ought to be an important objective of enforcement policy.  Some might argue it should be THE objective.  But it is difficult to know what is being deterred by a law if the agency enforcing the law cannot or will not explain its boundaries.  Commissioner Wright’s call for a policy statement on the scope of ... Paul Denis on Implementing a Policy Statement on UMC

Antitrust by Fiat

The Competition and Antitrust Law Enforcement Reform Act (CALERA), recently introduced in the U.S. Senate, exhibits a remarkable willingness to cast aside decades of evidentiary standards that courts have developed to uphold the rule of law by precluding factually and economically ungrounded applications of antitrust law. Without those safeguards, antitrust enforcement is prone to be ... Antitrust by Fiat

The Myth of the “Patent Troll” Litigation Explosion

[Cross posted at The Center for the Protection of Intellectual Property] In a prior blog posting, I reported how reports of a so-called “patent litigation explosion” today are just wrong.  As I detailed in another blog posting, the percentage of patent lawsuits today are not only consistent with historical patent litigation rates in the nineteenth ... The Myth of the “Patent Troll” Litigation Explosion

EU’s Compromise AI Legislation Remains Fundamentally Flawed

European Union (EU) legislators are now considering an Artificial Intelligence Act (AIA)—the original draft of which was published by the European Commission in April 2021—that aims to ensure AI systems are safe in a number of uses designated as “high risk.” One of the big problems with the AIA is that, as originally drafted, it ... EU’s Compromise AI Legislation Remains Fundamentally Flawed

How to Slow the Spread SARS-CoV2 and Reduce Mortality from COVID-19 Without Destroying the Economy

[TOTM: The following is part of a blog series by TOTM guests and authors on the law, economics, and policy of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The entire series of posts is available here. This post is authored by Julian Morris, (Director of Innovation Policy, ICLE).] SARS-CoV2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is now widespread in the population in ... How to Slow the Spread SARS-CoV2 and Reduce Mortality from COVID-19 Without Destroying the Economy

Everything you wanted to know about the Citigroup-Wachovia-Wells Fargo Debacle

Coverage of the Citigroup-Wachovia-Wells Fargo situation has revealed many fundamental misunderstandings of various aspects of the debacle, such that I wanted to offer my thoughts on a few points that have been curiously misstated: 1.           A discussion of “fiduciary outs” is a bit of a non sequitur here. Across the ‘net, legal experts have been ... Everything you wanted to know about the Citigroup-Wachovia-Wells Fargo Debacle

Pioneers in Law and Economics: Benjamin Klein

I’ve mentioned previously that my colleague Lloyd Cohen and I are editing a volume for Edward Elgar Publishing on Pioneers in Law and Economics.   Look for details in this space soon on a full list of contributing authors and subjects as well as where to buy the book!  One of the perks of co-editing a ... Pioneers in Law and Economics: Benjamin Klein

Wanted: NSF Law and Social Science Program Director

Last Spring, I had the pleasure of serving on the NSF Law and Social Science Advisory Panel.  It was an honor to be invited and a fantastic experience that gave me exposure to accomplished interdisciplinary scholars in fields and perspectives with which I rarely have the opportunity to interact.  The NSF is now seeking a ... Wanted: NSF Law and Social Science Program Director

The Proposition 8 decision and the law market

This market/business oriented blog will only contribute a few of the zillions of words that will be written on this case. I will, of course, focus on the market aspects – that is, the market for law. I have previously discussed same sex marriage in the context of the U.S. federal system – in a ... The Proposition 8 decision and the law market

The TCPA is a Costly Technological Anachronism

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) is back in the news following a letter sent to PayPal from the Enforcement Bureau of the FCC.  At issue are amendments that PayPal intends to introduce into its end user agreement. Specifically, PayPal is planning on including an automated call and text message system with which it would reach ... The TCPA is a Costly Technological Anachronism

No Facts, No Problem?

There has been, as is to be expected, plenty of casual analysis of the AT&T / T-Mobile merger to go around.  As I mentioned, I think there are a number of interesting issues to be resolved in an investigation with access to the facts necessary to conduct the appropriate analysis.   Annie Lowery’s piece in Slate ... No Facts, No Problem?