The Archives

The collection of all scholarly commentary on law, economics, and more

Showing results for:  “digital markets act”

Lina Khan’s Privacy Proposals Are at Odds with Market Principles and Consumer Welfare

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is at it again, threatening new sorts of regulatory interventions in the legitimate welfare-enhancing activities of businesses—this time in the realm of data collection by firms. Discussion In an April 11 speech at the International Association of Privacy Professionals’ Global Privacy Summit, FTC Chair Lina Khan set forth a litany ... Lina Khan’s Privacy Proposals Are at Odds with Market Principles and Consumer Welfare

Ms Vestager: Do Not Tear Down This Wall

The European Commission appears resolved to tear down Apple’s “walled garden.”[1] Following a complaint filed by Spotify, the Commission has already fined Apple an exorbitant €1.8 billion for allegedly abusing its dominant position in the market for distributing streaming-music apps to iPhone and iPad users (a case where Apple was found to be dominant in ... Ms Vestager: Do Not Tear Down This Wall

The Paradox of Choice Meets the Information Age

Barry Schwartz’s seminal work “The Paradox of Choice” has received substantial attention since its publication nearly 20 years ago. In it, Schwartz argued that, faced with an ever-increasing plethora of products to choose from, consumers often feel overwhelmed and seek to limit the number of choices they must make. In today’s online digital economy, a ... The Paradox of Choice Meets the Information Age

The Market Challenge to Populist Antitrust

The wave of populist antitrust that has been embraced by regulators and legislators in the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, and other jurisdictions rests on the assumption that currently dominant platforms occupy entrenched positions that only government intervention can dislodge. Following this view, Facebook will forever dominate social networking, Amazon will forever dominate cloud ... The Market Challenge to Populist Antitrust

Apple Fined at the 11th Hour Before the DMA Enters into Force

Just days before the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) was set to enter into force, the European Commission hit Apple—one of the six designated “gatekeepers” to which the new law will apply—with a hefty €1.8 billion fine for the kinds of anti-steering provisions that will be banned by the DMA, which enters into force on ... Apple Fined at the 11th Hour Before the DMA Enters into Force

A European Commission Challenge to iRobot’s Acquisition Is Unjustified and Would Harm Dynamic Competition

Once again, a major competition agency, the European Commission, appears poised to take an anticompetitive enforcement action—in this case, blocking Amazon’s acquisition of consumer robotic-manufacturer iRobot. iRobot, headquartered in Bedford, Massachusetts, is an American success story: Founded in 1990 by Massachusetts Institute of Technology roboticists with the vision of making practical robots a reality, iRobot ... A European Commission Challenge to iRobot’s Acquisition Is Unjustified and Would Harm Dynamic Competition

Congress Should Not Legalize a News Media Cartel

Amazingly enough, at a time when legislative proposals for new antitrust restrictions are rapidly multiplying—see the Competition and Antitrust Law Enforcement Reform Act (CALERA), for example—Congress simultaneously is seriously considering granting antitrust immunity to a price-fixing cartel among members of the newsmedia. This would thereby authorize what the late Justice Antonin Scalia termed “the supreme ... Congress Should Not Legalize a News Media Cartel

Manne on Carrier's Innovation in the 21st Century

Michael Carrier has written a timely and interesting book.  Like Dan, I’m still digesting it (which means, in translation: I have not yet read every word).  There is much to like about the book, in particular its accessible format and content.  I do fear that it is a bit overly ambitious, however, hoping both to ... Manne on Carrier's Innovation in the 21st Century

Big Ink vs. Bigger Tech

[TOTM: The following is the fifth in a series of posts by TOTM guests and authors on the politicization of antitrust. The entire series of posts is available here.] This post is authored by Ramsi Woodcock, Assistant Professor, College of Law, and Assistant Professor, Department of Management at Gatton College of Business & Economics, University ... Big Ink vs. Bigger Tech

More Misguided Derision from Critics of the Verizon-SpectrumCo Wireless Deal

The pending wireless spectrum deal between Verizon Wireless and a group of cable companies (the SpectrumCo deal, for short) continues to attract opprobrium from self-proclaimed consumer advocates and policy scolds.  In the latest salvo, Public Knowledge’s Harold Feld (and other critics of the deal) aren’t happy that Verizon seems to be working to appease the regulators by selling off ... More Misguided Derision from Critics of the Verizon-SpectrumCo Wireless Deal

In Apple v Pepper, SCOTUS leaves home without its Amex

It might surprise some readers to learn that we think the Court’s decision today in Apple v. Pepper reaches — superficially — the correct result. But, we hasten to add, the Court’s reasoning (and, for that matter, the dissent’s) is completely wrongheaded. It would be an understatement to say that the Court reached the right ... In Apple v Pepper, SCOTUS leaves home without its Amex

No, Mergers Are Not Like ‘The Ultimate Cartel’

There is a line of thinking according to which, without merger-control rules, antitrust law is “incomplete.”[1] Without such a regime, the argument goes, whenever a group of companies faces with the risk of being penalized for cartelizing, they could instead merge and thus “raise prices without any legal consequences.”[2] A few months ago, at a ... No, Mergers Are Not Like ‘The Ultimate Cartel’