Showing results for: “google”
Microsoft comes full circle
I am disappointed but not surprised to see that my former employer filed an official antitrust complaint against Google in the EU. The blog post by Microsoft’s GC, Brad Smith, summarizing its complaint is here. Most obviously, there is a tragic irony to the most antitrust-beleaguered company ever filing an antitrust complaint against its successful competitor. ... Microsoft comes full circle
Antitrust in Tech Industries
Two stories about Google indicate the dangers of antitrust in fast moving tech industries. Microsoft is urging the EU antitrust authorities to sue Google. (Microsoft was itself the victim of a massive antitrust action. I guess it is true that abusers are likely to have been themselves abused.) At the same time Google is ... Antitrust in Tech Industries
Google Book Project
Google’s efforts to make out of print books available online has run into a major stumbling block. Judge Chin ordered that books can only be digitized by Google if the author opts in; the agreement which he through out called for opt out. This is an shame and a highly inefficient result. As reported, the ... Google Book Project
Search Bias and Antitrust
There is an antitrust debate brewing concerning Google and “search bias,” a term used to describe search engine results that preference the content of the search provider. For example, Google might list Google Maps prominently if one searches “maps” or Microsoft’s Bing might prominently place Microsoft affiliated content or products. Apparently both antitrust investigations and ... Search Bias and Antitrust
Some Links
Google Book Settlement is rejected Brian Leiter interviews Ron Allen on the Van Zandt era at Northwestern; Bainbridge comments Which lawyers are working the AT&T/ T-Mobile deal? Also, economist David Evans on how the deal will be reviewed (Video) Interesting paper: Do Financial Counseling Mandates Improve Mortgage Choice and Performance? Evidence from a Legislative Experiment
Privacy Cost-Benefit Analysis
As I mentioned in my previous post, there is a strong effort to regulate the use of information on the web in the name of “privacy.” The basic tradeoff that drives the web is that firms use information for advertising and other purposes,and in return consumers get lots of things free. Google alone offers about 40 free services, including the original ... Privacy Cost-Benefit Analysis
Jack Calfee, In Memoriam, by Paul Rubin
My good friend and coauthor John E. (Jack) Calfee died suddenly of a heart attack last month. He was bon in 1941 and was 69 years old. Jack came late to economics. After graduating from Rice with a major in mathematics, he studied international relations at the University of Chicago and then worked for AT&T ... Jack Calfee, In Memoriam, by Paul Rubin
Apple, Antitrust, and the FTC
Antitrust investigators continue to see smoke rising around Apple and the App Store. From the WSJ: For starters, subscriptions must be sold through Apple’s App Store. For instance, a magazine that wants to publish its content on an iPad cannot include a link in an iPad app that would direct readers to buy subscriptions through ... Apple, Antitrust, and the FTC
Tim Wu to the FTC: What does it mean?
As you may have heard, Columbia lawprof and holder of the dubious distinction of having originated the term and concept of Net Neutrality, Tim Wu, is headed to the FTC as a senior advisor. Curiously, his guest stint runs for only about four and a half months. As the WSJ reports: Mr. Wu, 38, will ... Tim Wu to the FTC: What does it mean?
On the ethical dimension of l’affair hiybbprqag
Former TOTM blog symposium participant Joshua Gans (visiting Microsoft Research) has a post at TAP on l’affair hiybbprqag, about which I blogged previously here. Gans notes, as I did, that Microsoft is not engaged in wholesale copying of Google’s search results, even though doing so would be technologically feasible. But Gans goes on to draw ... On the ethical dimension of l’affair hiybbprqag
Microsoft undermines its own case
One of my favorite stories in the ongoing saga over the regulation (and thus the future) of Internet search emerged earlier this week with claims by Google that Microsoft has been copying its answers–using Google search results to bolster the relevance of its own results for certain search terms. The full story from Internet search ... Microsoft undermines its own case
DOJ Gears Up To Challenge Proposed Google-ITA Merger
The WSJ reports that the DOJ is getting itself ready to challenge the Google-ITA merger (see earlier TOTM posts here and here): Justice Department staff lawyers have begun preparing legal documents for use in a possible court challenge to the $700 million deal for ITA Software Inc., but no decision to proceed has been made, ... DOJ Gears Up To Challenge Proposed Google-ITA Merger
