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

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The FCC’s proposed broadband privacy rules are still devoid of sufficient evidence or analysis

Yesterday, the International Center for Law & Economics filed reply comments in the docket of the FCC’s Broadband Privacy NPRM. ICLE was joined in its comments by the following scholars of law & economics: Babette E. Boliek, Associate Professor of Law, Pepperdine School of Law Adam Candeub, Professor of Law, Michigan State University College of ... The FCC’s proposed broadband privacy rules are still devoid of sufficient evidence or analysis

Critics of health insurance mergers misapply the evidence and misinterpret the market

As regulatory review of the merger between Aetna and Humana hits the homestretch, merger critics have become increasingly vocal in their opposition to the deal. This is particularly true of a subset of healthcare providers concerned about losing bargaining power over insurers. Fortunately for consumers, the merger appears to be well on its way to ... Critics of health insurance mergers misapply the evidence and misinterpret the market

Welcome guest blogger David Olson

I’m delighted to announce that David Olson will be guest blogging at Truth on the Market this summer. David is an Associate Professor at Boston College Law School. He teaches antitrust, patents, and intellectual property law. Professor Olson’s writing has been cited in Supreme Court and other legal opinions. Olson came to Boston College from Stanford ... Welcome guest blogger David Olson

Senator Lee’s prescription for regulatory failure in the generic drug market

Brand drug manufacturers are no strangers to antitrust accusations when it comes to their complicated relationship with generic competitors — most obviously with respect to reverse payment settlements. But the massive and massively complex regulatory scheme under which drugs are regulated has provided other opportunities for regulatory legerdemain with potentially anticompetitive effect, as well. In ... Senator Lee’s prescription for regulatory failure in the generic drug market

The FCC’s proposed broadband privacy rules: The harmful effects of regulating without evidence or analysis

Last week the International Center for Law & Economics filed comments on the FCC’s Broadband Privacy NPRM. ICLE was joined in its comments by the following scholars of law & economics: Babette E. Boliek, Associate Professor of Law, Pepperdine School of Law Adam Candeub, Professor of Law, Michigan State University College of Law Justin (Gus) Hurwitz, Assistant Professor of ... The FCC’s proposed broadband privacy rules: The harmful effects of regulating without evidence or analysis

Congressional testimony on legislative reform proposals for the FTC

Earlier this week I testified before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade regarding several proposed FTC reform bills. You can find my written testimony here. That testimony was drawn from a 100 page report, authored by Berin Szoka and me, entitled “The Federal Trade Commission: Restoring Congressional Oversight of the Second National Legislature — An ... Congressional testimony on legislative reform proposals for the FTC

Pushing Ad Networks Out of Business: Yershov v. Gannett and the War Against Online Platforms

The lifecycle of a law is a curious one; born to fanfare, a great solution to a great problem, but ultimately doomed to age badly as lawyers seek to shoehorn wholly inappropriate technologies and circumstances into its ambit. The latest chapter in the book of badly aging laws comes to us courtesy of yet another ... Pushing Ad Networks Out of Business: Yershov v. Gannett and the War Against Online Platforms

FTC v Amazon: With every victory in court the FTC loses a little more

Yesterday a federal district court in Washington state granted the FTC’s motion for summary judgment against Amazon in FTC v. Amazon — the case alleging unfair trade practices in Amazon’s design of the in-app purchases interface for apps available in its mobile app store. The headlines score the decision as a loss for Amazon, and the FTC, of course, ... FTC v Amazon: With every victory in court the FTC loses a little more

Opening Pandora’s set-top box: ICLE’s comments on the FCC’s “unlocking the box” NPRM

On Friday the the International Center for Law & Economics filed comments with the FCC in response to Chairman Wheeler’s NPRM (proposed rules) to “unlock” the MVPD (i.e., cable and satellite subscription video, essentially) set-top box market. Plenty has been written on the proposed rulemaking—for a few quick hits (among many others) see, e.g., Richard ... Opening Pandora’s set-top box: ICLE’s comments on the FCC’s “unlocking the box” NPRM

O competition, we stand on guard for thee

Today’s Canadian Competition Bureau (CCB) Google decision marks yet another regulator joining the chorus of competition agencies around the world that have already dismissed similar complaints relating to Google’s Search or Android businesses (including the US FTC, the Korea FTC, the Taiwan FTC, and AG offices in Texas and Ohio). A number of courts around ... O competition, we stand on guard for thee

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

Netflix and net neutrality: Hypocritically screwing over Internet users since 2015!

Netflix’s latest net neutrality hypocrisy (yes, there have been others. See here and here, for example) involves its long-term, undisclosed throttling of its video traffic on AT&T’s and Verizon’s wireless networks, while it lobbied heavily for net neutrality rules from the FCC that would prevent just such throttling by ISPs. It was Netflix that coined ... Netflix and net neutrality: Hypocritically screwing over Internet users since 2015!