Showing results for: “price gouging”
The Paradoxical Perils of Mandatory ‘Competition’ in Merchant Routing of Credit-Card Transactions
Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) earlier this month introduced legislation that aims to manufacture competition in the routing of credit-card transactions. If enacted, the measure would require that merchants be able to choose from at least two networks when processing most credit-card transactions. While this would result in competition over routing, it would harm other forms ... The Paradoxical Perils of Mandatory ‘Competition’ in Merchant Routing of Credit-Card Transactions
Antitrust at the Agencies Roundup: You Will Absolutely Work in This Town Again Edition
I mean, Alvaro. I know it was you, Alvaro. Readers might recall my recent discussion of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) new Bureau of Let’s Sue Meta, in which I covered, among other things, the commission’s proposal to modify its 2020 Decision and Order In the Matter of Facebook Inc. (now Meta). The 2020 order ... Antitrust at the Agencies Roundup: You Will Absolutely Work in This Town Again Edition
Oregon Should Beware the Right to Repair
The Oregon State Legislature is considering HB 3631, a bill that would ensure that consumers have a “right to repair” their electronics devices. The legislation would require that manufacturers provide consumers and independent repair shops access to relevant repair information, as well to make available any parts or tools necessary to carry out the repair. ... Oregon Should Beware the Right to Repair
FTC v Amgen: The Economics of Bundled Discounts, Part Two
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently announced that it would sue to block Amgen’s proposed $27.8 billion acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics. The challenge represents a landmark in the history of pharmaceutical-industry antitrust enforcement, as the industry has largely been given license to engage in permissive mergers and acquisitions of smaller companies without challenge. In Part One, ... FTC v Amgen: The Economics of Bundled Discounts, Part Two
Dynamic Competition Proves There Is No Captive Audience: 10 Years, 10G, and YouTube TV
In Susan Crawford’s 2013 book “Captive Audience: The Telecom Industry and Monopoly Power in the New Gilded Age,” the Harvard Law School professor argued that the U.S. telecommunications industry had become dominated by a few powerful companies, leading to limited competition and negative consequences for consumers, especially for broadband internet. Crawford’s ire was focused particularly ... Dynamic Competition Proves There Is No Captive Audience: 10 Years, 10G, and YouTube TV
FTC v Amgen: The Economics of Bundled Discounts, Part One
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently announced that it would seek to block Amgen’s proposed $27.8 billion acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics. The move was the culmination of several years’ worth of increased scrutiny from both Congress and the FTC into antitrust issues in the biopharmaceutical industry. While the FTC’s move didn’t elicit much public comment, ... FTC v Amgen: The Economics of Bundled Discounts, Part One
The Robinson-Patman Act: The Anti-Consumer Welfare Statute
Consistent with the neo-Brandeisian penchant for downplaying (some would say ignoring) consumer-welfare concerns, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently touted its interest in “reinvigorating” enforcement of the Robinson-Patman Act (RPA). This would stand sensible antitrust-enforcement policy on its head, by devoting resources to actions that predictably would tend to diminish consumer welfare. In the hope ... The Robinson-Patman Act: The Anti-Consumer Welfare Statute
To Infinity and Beyond: The New Broadband Map Has Landed!
Announced with the sort of breathless press release one might expect for the launch of a new product like Waystar Royco’s Living+, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has gone into full-blown spin mode over its latest broadband map. This is, to be clear, the map that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will use ... To Infinity and Beyond: The New Broadband Map Has Landed!
No More Kings? Due Process and Regulation Without Representation Under the UK Competition Bill
What should a competition law for 21st century look like? This point is debated across many jurisdictions. The Digital Markets, Competition, and Consumers Bill (DMCC) would change UK competition law’s approach to large platforms. The bill’s core point is to place the UK Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) Digital Markets Unit (DMU) on a statutory footing with ... No More Kings? Due Process and Regulation Without Representation Under the UK Competition Bill
How Much Information Do Markets Require?
One of the biggest names in economics, Daron Acemoglu, recently joined the mess that is Twitter. He wasted no time in throwing out big ideas for discussion and immediately getting tons of, let us say, spirited replies. One of Acemoglu’s threads involved a discussion of F.A. Hayek’s famous essay “The Use of Knowledge in Society,” wherein ... How Much Information Do Markets Require?
If the UK Wants to Remain a Tech Leader, It Needs Less Regulation, Not More
Brexit was supposed to free the United Kingdom from Brussels’ heavy-handed regulation and red tape. But dreams of a Singapore-on-the-Thames are slowly giving way to ill-considered regulation that threatens to erode Britain’s position as one of the world’s leading tech hubs. The UK Competition and Markets Authority’s recent decision to block the merger of Microsoft ... If the UK Wants to Remain a Tech Leader, It Needs Less Regulation, Not More
Whatcha Gonna Do When the Well Runs Dry?
As the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations convenes this morning for a hearing on overseeing federal funds for broadband deployment, it bears mention that one of the largest U.S. broadband-subsidy programs is actually likely run out of money within the next year. Writing in Forbes, Roslyn Layton observes of the Affordable Connectivity Program ... Whatcha Gonna Do When the Well Runs Dry?
