Showing results for: “digital markets act”
Merger Enforcement Without Market Definition?
The Horizontal Merger Guidelines have brought discipline to the unruly world of merger analysis; but have also accommodated advances in our understanding of the myriad ways in which firms compete and how mergers affect such competition. However, in cases where there is better information about the effects of the merger than there is about the ... Merger Enforcement Without Market Definition?
Amazon is not essential
(The following is adapted from a recent ICLE Issue Brief on the flawed essential facilities arguments undergirding the EU competition investigations into Amazon’s marketplace that I wrote with Geoffrey Manne. The full brief is available here. ) Amazon has largely avoided the crosshairs of antitrust enforcers to date. The reasons seem obvious: in the US ... Amazon is not essential
As New York goes, so goes the FTC?
The New York Times is reporting that New York’s attorney general, Andrew Cuomo, has filed an antitrust suit against Intel. According to the report, The New York move increases the chances that the F.T.C. will take action against Intel, according to a person who was familiar with the state’s investigation but was not authorized to ... As New York goes, so goes the FTC?
My New Empirical Study on Defining and Measuring Search Bias
Tomorrow is the deadline for Eric Schmidt to send his replies to the Senate Judiciary Committee’s follow up questions from his appearance at a hearing on Google antitrust issues last month. At the hearing, not surprisingly, search neutrality was a hot topic, with representatives from the likes of Yelp and Nextag, as well as Expedia’s ... My New Empirical Study on Defining and Measuring Search Bias
PeaceHealth Should Apply Even When a Bundled Discount Results in "De Facto" Exclusive Dealing
The Ninth Circuit, whose PeaceHealth decision moved the law on bundled discounting in the right direction, recently issued another decision on bundled discounts. That decision, Masimo Corp. v. Tyco Health Care Group, L.P., threatens to limit PeaceHealth‘s effectiveness. Medical device manufacturer Masimo sued Tyco for monopolizing the market for pulse oximetry devices. A monopolization action ... PeaceHealth Should Apply Even When a Bundled Discount Results in "De Facto" Exclusive Dealing
Extending & Rebutting Edelman & Lockwood on Search Bias
In my last post, I discussed Edelman & Lockwood’s (E&L’s) attempt to catch search engines in the act of biasing their results—as well as their failure to actually do so. In this post, I present my own results from replicating their study. Unlike E&L, I find that Bing is consistently more biased than Google, for ... Extending & Rebutting Edelman & Lockwood on Search Bias
Herbert Hovenkamp on Revising the Merger Guidelines
Yes, the Merger Guidelines should be revised; in particular: a. The discussion of concentration thresholds for collusion facilitating mergers must be aligned more closely with both recent case law and actual enforcement practices; otherwise they fail to provide guidance. The current Guidelines indicate that concentrations greater than 1800 HHI and a post-merger increase exceeding 100HHI ... Herbert Hovenkamp on Revising the Merger Guidelines
Biweekly FTC Roundup: Antitrust Woodstock Edition
Last week’s roundup was postponed because I was kibbitzing at the spring meeting of the American Bar Association (ABA) Antitrust Section. For those outside the antitrust world, the spring meeting is the annual antitrust version of Woodstock. For those inside the antitrust world: Antitrust Woodstock is not really a thing. At the planetary-orbit level, the ... Biweekly FTC Roundup: Antitrust Woodstock Edition
FTC UMC Roundup – Trojan Horse Edition
Things are getting spicy in the administrative state. This week we have the first formal indication of new rules coming out of the FTC. We have lobbyists lobbying, and influencers influencing, CEOs loitering, and academics … academicing? We have some review and preview of what’s at stake with administrative law. We’ve got interesting upcoming events. ... FTC UMC Roundup – Trojan Horse Edition
Section 214: Title II’s Trojan Horse
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has proposed classifying broadband internet-access service as a common carrier “telecommunications service” under Title II of the Communications Act. One major consequence of this reclassification would be subjecting broadband providers to Section 214 regulations that govern the provision, acquisition, and discontinuation of communication “lines.” In the Trojan War, the Greeks ... Section 214: Title II’s Trojan Horse
Will an m & a boom save Big Law?
John Carney thinks a recent notable move of prominent banking partners from Latham to Milbank might signal that “debt financing for takeovers is about to take off,” just as it did when the same team moved from Skadden to Latham in 2004. This would also be consistent “with corporate cash piling up to record levels.” ... Will an m & a boom save Big Law?
Babies-R-Us and the Case Against a Presumption of Illegality for Retailer-Initiated RPM
According to the Wall Street Journal, the FTC is investigating whether retailer Toys-R-Us has violated the antitrust laws by inducing certain manufacturers to set minimum resale prices for their products (i.e., to engage in resale price maintenance, or “RPM”). The Journal first reports that the Commission “is investigating whether [Toys-R-Us] may have violated an 11-year-old ... Babies-R-Us and the Case Against a Presumption of Illegality for Retailer-Initiated RPM
