Showing results for: “digital markets act”
Passive Resistance and Contributory Liability
If you haven’t been following the ongoing developments emerging from the demise of Grooveshark, the story has only gotten more interesting. As the RIAA and major record labels have struggled to shut down infringing content on Grooveshark’s site (and now its copycats), groups like EFF would have us believe that the entire Internet was at ... Passive Resistance and Contributory Liability
The Essential Facility of Obama’s Competition Policy
It appears that White House’s zeal for progressive-era legal theory has … progressed (or regressed?) further. Late last week President Obama signed an Executive Order that nominally claims to direct executive agencies (and “strongly encourages” independent agencies) to adopt “pro-competitive” policies. It’s called Steps to Increase Competition and Better Inform Consumers and Workers to Support ... The Essential Facility of Obama’s Competition Policy
Business Law and the Austrian Theory of the Firm
My Missouri colleague, Peter Klein, of Organizations and Markets fame (and, like Larry, a proud non-voter), has been asked to contribute a book chapter on the Austrian theory of the firm and the law. Peter, who has written extensively on the Austrian theory of the firm and maintains an online bibliography on the subject, is ... Business Law and the Austrian Theory of the Firm
In re Pool Corporation: Yet Another Peculiar and Peverse Section 5 Consent from the FTC
TOTM readers know that I’ve long been skeptical of claims that expansive use of Section 5 of the FTC Act will prove productive for consumers. I’ve been critical of recent applications of Section 5 such as Intel and N-Data. Now comes yet another FTC consent decree in PoolCorp. I’m still skeptical. Indeed, PoolCorp appears to ... In re Pool Corporation: Yet Another Peculiar and Peverse Section 5 Consent from the FTC
Debunking the Myth of a Data Barrier to Entry for Online Services
Recent years have seen an increasing interest in incorporating privacy into antitrust analysis. The FTC and regulators in Europe have rejected these calls so far, but certain scholars and activists continue their attempts to breathe life into this novel concept. Elsewhere we have written at length on the scholarship addressing the issue and found the ... Debunking the Myth of a Data Barrier to Entry for Online Services
The FTC Still Has a Long Way to Go on its “Common Law” of Data Security
Since the LabMD decision, in which the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals told the FTC that its orders were unconstitutionally vague, the FTC has been put on notice that it needs to reconsider how it develops and substantiates its claims in data security enforcement actions brought under Section 5. Thus, on January 6, the FTC ... The FTC Still Has a Long Way to Go on its “Common Law” of Data Security
The FTC, DOJ, and International Competition Law: Convergence Away From the Consumer Welfare Standard?
In less than two and a half years, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) have undone more than two decades of work aimed at moving global competition law toward an economics-friendly consumer welfare standard. In tandem with foreign competition authorities, the U.S. antitrust agencies are now cooperating in an effort to ... The FTC, DOJ, and International Competition Law: Convergence Away From the Consumer Welfare Standard?
Should there be default fiduciary duties in Delaware LLCs and LPs?
A recently published on-line symposium calls needed attention to Delaware Chief Justice Myron Steele’s remarkable article, Freedom of Contract and Default Contractual Duties in the Delaware Limited Partnerships and Limited Liability Companies, 46 Am. Bus. L.J. 221 (2009) (no free link available). The Chief Justice makes an argument that is guaranteed to shock traditional business ... Should there be default fiduciary duties in Delaware LLCs and LPs?
Thom Lambert on Guidelines for the FTC’s UMC Authority: What’s Clear and What’s Not?
In the last few weeks, two members of the FTC—Commissioners Josh Wright and Maureen Ohlhausen—have staked largely consistent positions on guidelines for implementation of the Commission’s “unfair methods of competition” (UMC) authority. Their statements make two points that are, in my opinion, no-brainers. Where the statements conflict, they raise an issue worthy of significant contemplation. ... Thom Lambert on Guidelines for the FTC’s UMC Authority: What’s Clear and What’s Not?
National Petroleum Refiners v FTC: A Tale of Two Opinions
In 1972, a case came before Aubrey E. Robinson, Jr., a judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, involving the scope of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) regulatory authority. Section 5(a)(1) of the Federal Trade Commission Act outlaws “unfair methods of competition.” Section 6(g) says that the FTC may “make rules ... National Petroleum Refiners v FTC: A Tale of Two Opinions
After Loper Bright, FTC Awaits Its Turn At-Bat
In an Agencies Roundup post several weeks ago, I revisited the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) newly adopted—and not-yet-effective—rule barring the use of noncompete agreements across much of the U.S. economy. It was not my first such post (my ninth, if I’ve counted correctly, and if readers will forgo armchair diagnoses of monomania). The last time ... After Loper Bright, FTC Awaits Its Turn At-Bat
Two Helpful Developments Aimed at Curbing Anticompetitive Protectionist Occupational Licensing Restrictions – Harbingers of Reform?
Background Recently, an increasing amount of scholarship has focused on the excessive costs of occupational licensing, which too frequently serves merely as a protectionist state-created barrier to entry that arbitrarily prevents individuals (and, in particular, low-income individuals) from earning a living in their chosen field. A 2015 White House report explains that occupational licensing restrictions ... Two Helpful Developments Aimed at Curbing Anticompetitive Protectionist Occupational Licensing Restrictions – Harbingers of Reform?
