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Showing results for:  “Google shopping manne”

FCC restrictions on joint sales agreements: Yet another FCC rule without basis in evidence or economics

Recently, Commissioner Pai praised the introduction of bipartisan legislation to protect joint sales agreements (“JSAs”) between local television stations. He explained that JSAs are contractual agreements that allow broadcasters to cut down on costs by using the same advertising sales force. The efficiencies created by JSAs have helped broadcasters to offer services that benefit consumers, ... FCC restrictions on joint sales agreements: Yet another FCC rule without basis in evidence or economics

Microsoft’s mobile innovation today undercuts arguments built on yesterday’s Microsoft antitrust case

Last year, Microsoft’s new CEO, Satya Nadella, seemed to break with the company’s longstanding “complain instead of compete” strategy to acknowledge that: We’re going to innovate with a challenger mindset…. We’re not coming at this as some incumbent. Among the first items on his agenda? Treating competing platforms like opportunities for innovation and expansion rather ... Microsoft’s mobile innovation today undercuts arguments built on yesterday’s Microsoft antitrust case

The Dark Side of the FTC’s Latest Privacy Case, In the Matter of Nomi Technologies

Last week, the FTC announced its complaint and consent decree with Nomi Technologies for failing to allow consumers to opt-out of cell phone tracking while shopping in retail stores. Whatever one thinks about Nomi itself, the FTC’s enforcement action represents another step in the dubious application of its enforcement authority against deceptive statements. In response, ... The Dark Side of the FTC’s Latest Privacy Case, In the Matter of Nomi Technologies

The FAA’s proposed drone rules fail under both economic and First Amendment scrutiny

Last week the International Center for Law & Economics, joined by TechFreedom, filed comments with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in its Operation and Certification of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (“UAS” — i.e, drones) proceeding to establish rules for the operation of small drones in the National Airspace System. We believe that the FAA has ... The FAA’s proposed drone rules fail under both economic and First Amendment scrutiny

Mandated “fair use” language has no place in trade promotion authority

Earlier this week Senators Orrin Hatch and Ron Wyden and Representative Paul Ryan introduced bipartisan, bicameral legislation, the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015 (otherwise known as Trade Promotion Authority or “fast track” negotiating authority). The bill would enable the Administration to negotiate free trade agreements subject to appropriate Congressional review. Nothing ... Mandated “fair use” language has no place in trade promotion authority

The European Commission, Google, and the Limits of Antitrust

The precise details underlying the European Commission’s (EC) April 15 Statement of Objections (SO), the EC’s equivalent of an antitrust complaint, against Google, centered on the company’s promotion of its comparison shopping service (CSS), “Google Shopping,” have not yet been made public.  Nevertheless, the EC’s fact sheet describing the theory of the case is most ... The European Commission, Google, and the Limits of Antitrust

Don’t tread on my Internet

Ben Sperry and I have a long piece on net neutrality in the latest issue of Reason Magazine entitled, “How to Break the Internet.” It’s part of a special collection of articles and videos dedicated to the proposition “Don’t Tread on My Internet!” Reason has put together a great bunch of material, and packaged it in ... Don’t tread on my Internet

The Ninth Circuit botched its efficiencies analysis in the FTC v St Lukes antitrust case

Earlier this week the International Center for Law & Economics, along with a group of prominent professors and scholars of law and economics, filed an amicus brief with the Ninth Circuit seeking rehearing en banc of the court’s FTC, et al. v. St Luke’s case. ICLE, joined by the Medicaid Defense Fund, also filed an ... The Ninth Circuit botched its efficiencies analysis in the FTC v St Lukes antitrust case

FCC Internet Regulation Is a Recipe for Crony Capitalism

Much ink has been spilled (and with good reason) about the excessive and totally unnecessary regulatory burdens associated with the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) February 26 “Open Internet Order” (OIO), which imposes public utility regulation on Internet traffic.  For example, as Heritage Foundation Senior Research Fellow James Gattuso recently explained, “[d]evised for the static monopolies, ... FCC Internet Regulation Is a Recipe for Crony Capitalism

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

FTC Staff Report on Google: Much Ado About Nothing

The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that the FTC Bureau of Competition staff report to the commissioners in the Google antitrust investigation recommended that the Commission approve an antitrust suit against the company. While this is excellent fodder for a few hours of Twitter hysteria, it takes more than 140 characters to delve into the ... FTC Staff Report on Google: Much Ado About Nothing

Innovation Death Panels and Other Economic Shortcomings of the White House Proposed Privacy Bill

In short, all of this hand-wringing over privacy is largely a tempest in a teapot — especially when one considers the extent to which the White House and other government bodies have studiously ignored the real threat: government misuse of data à la the NSA. It’s almost as if the White House is deliberately shifting the public's gaze from the reality of extensive government spying by directing it toward a fantasy world of nefarious corporations abusing private information…. The White House’s proposed bill is emblematic of many government “fixes” to largely non-existent privacy issues, and it exhibits the same core defects that undermine both its claims and its proposed solutions. As a result, the proposed bill vastly overemphasizes regulation to the dangerous detriment of the innovative benefits of Big Data for consumers and society at large.