Showing results for: “digital markets act”
Can the FTC Use Rulemaking to Change Antitrust Law?
FTC Rulemaking Power In 2021, President Joe Biden appointed a prolific young scholar, Lina Khan, to chair the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Khan strongly dislikes almost every element of antitrust law. She has stated her intention to use notice and comment rulemaking to change antitrust law in many ways. She was unable to begin this process ... Can the FTC Use Rulemaking to Change Antitrust Law?
The D.C. Circuit Re-Disappoints in Whole Foods: An Analysis of the Amended Opinions
Being a “glass is half-full” type of guy, I figured there was no way the D.C. Circuit’s decision on Whole Foods’ petition for rehearing en banc could turn out poorly: Either the court would grant the motion and correct the panel’s mistakes, or the court would deny the motion, setting up an attractive opportunity for ... The D.C. Circuit Re-Disappoints in Whole Foods: An Analysis of the Amended Opinions
Efficiency, Competition, Capital Formation, Investor Protection, Apple Pie and Puppies
One of the things that I hope to spend more time doing now that I have returned to the blogosphere is open-source article writing. By that I mean blogging about an article idea and updating it as I progress. Some say it’s a bad plan…people might steal your ideas, or maybe you expose yourself to ... Efficiency, Competition, Capital Formation, Investor Protection, Apple Pie and Puppies
The Competition and Transparency in Digital Advertising Act Is Fatally Flawed
The Competition and Transparency in Digital Advertising Act (CTDAA), introduced May 19 by Sens. Mike Lee (R-Utah), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), is the latest manifestation of the congressional desire to “do something” legislatively about big digital platforms. Although different in substance from the other antitrust bills introduced this Congress, ... The Competition and Transparency in Digital Advertising Act Is Fatally Flawed
Antitrust Limits on Merger Decision Markets?
At Overcoming Bias, Robin Hanson points to the absence of decision markets evaluating competitive conditions in the post-merger world as evidence that “these companies are just not serious about finding the highest value applications of prediction markets.” Here’s a description of the markets that Robin has in mind: Decision markets could say whether this merger ... Antitrust Limits on Merger Decision Markets?
Confronting the DMA’s Shaky Suppositions
It’s easy for politicians to make unrealistic promises. Indeed, without a healthy skepticism on the part of the public, they can grow like weeds. In the world of digital policy, the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) has proven fertile ground for just such promises. We’ve been told that large digital platforms are the source ... Confronting the DMA’s Shaky Suppositions
New Merger Guidelines Are As Expected. That’s Not a Compliment.
Fifteen months after the close of the comment period, we finally have the release of the draft merger guidelines by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ). While there is a lot to digest in the 51 page document with over 100 (largely stale) footnotes, the broad picture is clear: the goal of ... New Merger Guidelines Are As Expected. That’s Not a Compliment.
The Conundrum of Out-of-Market Effects in Merger Enforcement
Section 7 of the Clayton Act prohibits mergers that harm competition in “in any line” of commerce. And, indeed, the Supreme Court’s decisions in Philadelphia National Bank and Topco are often cited on behalf of the proposition that this means any single cognizable market, and that anticompetitive effects in one market cannot be offset by ... The Conundrum of Out-of-Market Effects in Merger Enforcement
Google, Amazon, Switching Costs, and Red Herrings
Way back in May, I cracked wise about the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) fictional “Bureau of Let’s Sue Meta,” noting that the commission’s proposal (really, an “order to show cause”) to modify its 2020 settlement of a consumer-protection matter with what had then been Facebook—in other words, a settlement modifying a 2012 settlement—was the FTC’s ... Google, Amazon, Switching Costs, and Red Herrings
IMG-Learfield: An antitrust reality check on two-sided market mergers
Yesterday Learfield and IMG College inked their recently announced merger. Since the negotiations were made public several weeks ago, the deal has garnered some wild speculation and potentially negative attention. Now that the merger has been announced, it’s bound to attract even more attention and conjecture. On the field of competition, however, the market realities ... IMG-Learfield: An antitrust reality check on two-sided market mergers
James Cooper on Antitrust Treatment of Expansive Interpretations of Ethical Rules
Attorneys earn excess rents by maintaining barriers to entering the legal profession. Legislation and regulation expanding the scope of work that only an attorney legally can perform is an obvious way in which attorneys attempt to expand or protect the market for their services. The FTC has a long history of trying to convince state ... James Cooper on Antitrust Treatment of Expansive Interpretations of Ethical Rules
The price of closing the Google search antitrust case: questionable precedent on patents
The Federal Trade Commission yesterday closed its investigation of Google’s search business (see my comment here) without taking action. The FTC did, however, enter into a settlement with Google over the licensing of Motorola Mobility’s standards-essential patents (SEPs). The FTC intends that agreement to impose some limits on an area of great complexity and vigorous ... The price of closing the Google search antitrust case: questionable precedent on patents
