Showing results for: “google”
Barnett v. Barnett on Antitrust
Tom Barnett (Covington & Burling) represents Expedia in, among other things, its efforts to persuade a US antitrust agency to bring a case against Google involving the alleged use of its search engine results to harm competition. In that role, in a recent piece in Bloomberg, Barnett wrote the following things: “The U.S. Justice Department ... Barnett v. Barnett on Antitrust
Antitrust as Innovation Policy
The Washington Post links to the transcript of the President’s recent remarks at a Palo Alto town hall meeting at Facebook’s headquarters on April 20. The President talked about recent issues of interest, focusing primarily on the budget, unemployment and health care. I did see one item that may be of interest to the antitrust ... Antitrust as Innovation Policy
The End of An Era?
Well, perhaps not quite the end of an era given all of the intense antitrust scrutiny that continues in the high-tech sector. But it seems like it should not go without noting that the Microsoft case will officially come to an end on May 12th. The San Francisco Chronicle observes: In a final hearing in ... The End of An Era?
Sacrificing Consumer Welfare in the Search Bias Debate
Eric Clemons and Nehal Madhani have a posted a series of short blog posts on the Huffington Post focusing on Google, antitrust, and more specifically, vertical integration and search (Part I, Part II, and Part III). The articles contain much of the standard hand-wringing about vertical integration and its impact on consumer welfare. This is ... Sacrificing Consumer Welfare in the Search Bias Debate
Net Neutrality, the MetroPCS Complaint, and Low-Income Consumers
I blogged a bit about the MetroPCS net neutrality complaint a few weeks ago. The complaint, you may recall, targeted the MetroPCS menu of packages and pricing offered to its consumers. The idea that MetroPCS, about one-tenth the size of Verizon, has market power is nonsense. As my colleague Tom Hazlett explains, restrictions on MetroPCS ... Net Neutrality, the MetroPCS Complaint, and Low-Income Consumers
Manne and Wright on Search Neutrality
Josh and I have just completed a white paper on search neutrality/search bias and the regulation of search engines. The paper is this year’s first in the ICLE Antitrust & Consumer Protection White Paper Series: If Search Neutrality Is the Answer, What’s the Question? Geoffrey A. Manne (Lewis & Clark Law School and ICLE) and ... Manne and Wright on Search Neutrality
DOJ clears Google-ITA
The press release is here. Notably, the settlement obligates Google to continue product development and to license ITA software on commercially-reasonable terms, seemingly for 5 years. Frankly, I can’t imagine Google wouldn’t have done this anyway, so the settlement is not likely much of a binding constraint. Also notable is what the settlement doesn’t seem to ... DOJ clears Google-ITA
Closing the US securities markets
The WSJ reports that the SEC is considering raising the 500-shareholder limit on the number of holders of a class of securities a company can have before having to register that security with the Commission under Section 12(g) of the 1934 Act. The SEC reportedly is also considering relaxing the “general solicitation” restriction on private ... Closing the US securities markets
Type I errors in action, Google edition
Does anyone really still believe that the threat of antitrust enforcement doesn’t lead to undesirable caution on the part of potential defendants? Whatever you may think of the merits of the Google/ITA merger (and obviously I suspect the merits cut in favor of the merger), there can be no doubt that restraining Google’s (and other ... Type I errors in action, Google edition
What search bias would really look like
A friend sent me a link to this Simon Rich “Shouts and Murmurs” from the New Yorker last year. Somehow I missed it at the time. It’s pretty funny. A taste: My favorite Google feature is Google Dictionary. Whenever I need a word defined, I just type it into the search box and the meaning ... What search bias would really look like
Welcome to Net Neutrality
Recently, I’ve been blogging about the difference between so-called “bias” in vertically integrated economic relationships and consumer harm (e.g., here and here). The two are different. Indeed, vertical integration and contractual arrangements are generally pro-consumer and efficient. Many of the same arguments surrounded the net neutrality debate with critics largely skeptical that the legislation was ... Welcome to Net Neutrality
Google, Antitrust, and First Principles
I’ve read with interest over the last few days the commentary on Microsoft’s filing of a formal complaint with the EU, Microsoft’s defense of its actions, and the various stories around the web. Geoff and Paul appropriately focus on the error-cost concerns associated with intervention in high-tech markets; Paul also emphasizes the ironies associated with ... Google, Antitrust, and First Principles
