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FTC’s Amazon Complaint: Perhaps the Greatest Affront to Consumer and Producer Welfare in Antitrust History

“Seldom in the history of U.S. antitrust law has one case had the potential to do so much good [HARM] for so many people.” – Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Bureau of Competition Deputy Director John Newman, quoted in a Sept. 26 press release announcing the FTC’s lawsuit against Amazon (correction IN ALL CAPS is mine) ... FTC’s Amazon Complaint: Perhaps the Greatest Affront to Consumer and Producer Welfare in Antitrust History

An FTC Complaint Against Amazon Gets Personal

There is much in the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) record over the past two years that could be categorized as abnormal. There is, for instance, nothing “normal” about using the threat of excessive force to cower businesses into submission. Introducing sky high costs for the filing of mergers isn’t normal, as it will scare away ... An FTC Complaint Against Amazon Gets Personal

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?

The FTC Tacks Into the Gale, Battening No Hatches: Part 2

Part 1 of this piece can be found here. Emergence of the ‘Neo-Brandeisians’ Thus, matters unfolded until the curtain began to descend on the second Obama term in 2016. In the midst of presidential primary season, a targeted political challenge to the prevailing economic approach to antitrust first came to light. No one has yet ... The FTC Tacks Into the Gale, Battening No Hatches: Part 2

Antitrust at the Agencies Roundup: Back to the Past Edition

Labor Day approaches with most of us looking forward to a long weekend off, but there’s much in competition world looming on the horizon. As I am looking forward to a couple of days off, I’ll offer more of an annotated bibliography than analysis. But also a bit of discussion, because I am what I ... Antitrust at the Agencies Roundup: Back to the Past Edition

Broadband Deployment, Pole Attachments, & the Competition Economics of Rural-Electric Co-ops

In our recent issue brief, Geoffrey Manne, Kristian Stout, and I considered the antitrust economics of state-owned enterprises—specifically the local power companies (LPCs) that are government-owned under the authority of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). While we noted that electricity cooperatives (co-ops) do not receive antitrust immunities and could therefore be subject to antitrust enforcement, we ... Broadband Deployment, Pole Attachments, & the Competition Economics of Rural-Electric Co-ops

South Africa’s Competition Proposal Takes Europe’s DMA Model to the Extreme

The South African Competition Commission (SACC) has proposed changes to the nation’s digital-market regulation that could deal a significant blow to an already struggling South African economy. Ostensibly intended to protect online competition, the SACC’s plan to reshape the business models of “online intermediation platforms” like Google and Booking.com would entail a radical departure from traditional competition regulation. This ... South Africa’s Competition Proposal Takes Europe’s DMA Model to the Extreme

Antitrust at the Agencies Roundup: Kill All the Widgets Edition

Over the river, into the woods, and down into the weeds we go. There’s a whole lot of drama going on at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), not least because of recent correspondence between the U.S. House Oversight Committee and FTC Chair Lina Khan that might politely—euphemistically, really—be termed “heated.” But I’m not gonna go ... Antitrust at the Agencies Roundup: Kill All the Widgets Edition

The FTC’s Gambit Against Amazon: Navigating a Multiverse of Blowback and Consumer Harm

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is reportedly poised some time within the next month to file a major antitrust lawsuit against Amazon—the biggest yet against the company and the latest in a long string of cases targeting U.S. tech firms (see, for example, here and here). While specific details of the suit remain largely unknown ... The FTC’s Gambit Against Amazon: Navigating a Multiverse of Blowback and Consumer Harm

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

Does ‘Open Finance’ Promote Competition or Facilitate Free Riding?

Financial technology, or so-called “fintech,” is disrupting the financial sector, and that’s a good thing. Fintech services are making finance more digital and more user-friendly. This, in turn, has led to reduced transactions costs and increased levels of competition, innovation, and financial inclusion. Alas, the emergence of fintech has also been accompanied by a rising ... Does ‘Open Finance’ Promote Competition or Facilitate Free Riding?

Antitrust at the Agencies Roundup: The Joint FTC/DOJ Guidelines to Nowhere (or Nowhere Good) Edition

The FTC and DOJ have done it: on July 19 they released the long awaited (or dreaded) draft merger guidelines, which . . . well, could have been worse, given current agency leadership, but could have been better (as demonstrated by the certainly imperfect, but still better, 2010 guidelines they replaced). Jumping on the agencies’ ... Antitrust at the Agencies Roundup: The Joint FTC/DOJ Guidelines to Nowhere (or Nowhere Good) Edition