Showing results for: “Michael Vita”
The Missing Element in the Google Case
Through laudable competition on the merits, Google achieved a usage share of nearly 90% in “general search services.” About a decade later, the government alleged that Google had maintained its dominant share through exclusionary practices violating Section 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act. The case was tried in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. last ... The Missing Element in the Google Case
Section 214: Title II’s Trojan Horse
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has proposed classifying broadband internet-access service as a common carrier “telecommunications service” under Title II of the Communications Act. One major consequence of this reclassification would be subjecting broadband providers to Section 214 regulations that govern the provision, acquisition, and discontinuation of communication “lines.” In the Trojan War, the Greeks ... Section 214: Title II’s Trojan Horse
The Law & Economics of the Capital One-Discover Merger
Capital One Financial announced plans late last month to acquire Discover Financial Services in a $35.3 billion deal that would give Capital One its own credit-card payment network, while simultaneously allowing the company to expand its deposit base, credit-card offerings, and rewards programs. Conversely, credit analysts like Matt Schulz of LendingTree note that “if Capital ... The Law & Economics of the Capital One-Discover Merger
Whose Failure Is the Failed Amazon/iRobot Merger?
The European Commission told Amazon in November 2023 of its preliminary view that the company’s proposed acquisition of iRobot restricted competition in the market for robot vacuum cleaners (RVCs) and could hamper rival RVC suppliers’ ability to compete effectively. The deal, the Commission asserted, would give Amazon incentive to foreclose iRobot’s competitors by engaging in ... Whose Failure Is the Failed Amazon/iRobot Merger?
Three Problems with Accelerated Access: Will They Be Overcome?
This post discusses three important problems with the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) accelerated-approval process. The first is that regulatory authorities and patient groups maintain that, legally, the standards of accelerated approval are the same as standard approval. Yet from a risk perspective, the standards are quite different; by shifting risk taking from regulator to ... Three Problems with Accelerated Access: Will They Be Overcome?
Oncology Drives Most Recent Accelerated Approvals
In my most recent post on medicine approvals I explored how the HIV/AIDS crisis drove a reevaluation of what was truly essential to demonstrate a new drug’s efficacy. Allowing HIV patients to take investigational treatments meant that research into rarer conditions—which previously would never have been profitable—might now be financially worthwhile. This post estimates the ... Oncology Drives Most Recent Accelerated Approvals
Hands Across the Agencies
In the headline to a Dec. 7 press release, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it, in concert with the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), had managed to “Lower Health Care and Drug Costs, Promote Competition to Benefit Patients, Health Care Workers.” According to the subhead: ... Hands Across the Agencies
A Brief History of the US Drug Approval Process, and the Birth of Accelerated Approval
This is the second post about the U.S. drug-approval process; the first post is here. It will explore how the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) arose, how disasters drove its expansion and regulatory oversight, and how the epidemic of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) changed the approval processes. The Arrival of New Medicines Lone inventors, ... A Brief History of the US Drug Approval Process, and the Birth of Accelerated Approval
Net Neutrality and Broken Records
I don’t mean to sound like a broken record, but why is the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) playing a broken record? I’ve been writing a fair bit about Federal Trade Commission (FTC) rulemaking initiatives. On the theory that you deserve a nominal break from all of that, this post is mostly about the FCC. On ... Net Neutrality and Broken Records
When Progress Is Regressive: The Ordo-Brandeisian Devolution
It is no coincidence that ordoliberalism—the European (originally German) alternative to classical liberalism that emphasized the importance of the “social market” economy—and the New Brandeis or “neo-Brandeisian” movement, which harkens back to the Progressive Era thought of the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, both are enjoying comebacks simultaneously. The effects of these ideological ... When Progress Is Regressive: The Ordo-Brandeisian Devolution
Everyone Discriminates Under the FCC’s Proposed New Rules
The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) proposed digital-discrimination rules hit the streets earlier this month and, as we say at Hootenanny Central, they’re a real humdinger. It looks like the National Telecommunications and Information Agency (NTIA) got most of their wishlist incorporated into the proposed rules. We’ve got disparate impact and a wide-open door for future ... Everyone Discriminates Under the FCC’s Proposed New Rules
The Marketplace of Ideas: Government Failure Is Worse Than Market Failure When It Comes to Social-Media Misinformation
Today marks the release of a white paper I have been working on for a long time, titled “Knowledge and Decisions in the Information Age: The Law & Economics of Regulating Misinformation on Social-Media Platforms.” In it, I attempt to outline an Austrian law & economics theory of state action under the First Amendment, and ... The Marketplace of Ideas: Government Failure Is Worse Than Market Failure When It Comes to Social-Media Misinformation
