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Showing results for:  “coase”

FCC’s Digital-Discrimination Rules: An Open Invitation to Flood the Field with Schlock

A half-dozen lawsuits have been filed to date challenging the digital-discrimination rules recently approved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). These cases were consolidated earlier this month and will now be heard by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. This has the hallmarks of a significant case that will almost certainly involve the U.S. ... FCC’s Digital-Discrimination Rules: An Open Invitation to Flood the Field with Schlock

ICLE Files Amicus in NetChoice Social-Media Regulation Cases

Through our excellent counsel at Yetter Coleman LLP, the International Center for Law & Economics (ICLE ) filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in the Moody v. NetChoice and NetChoice v. Paxton cases. In it, we argue that the First Amendment’s protection of the “marketplace of ideas” requires allowing private actors—like social-media ... ICLE Files Amicus in NetChoice Social-Media Regulation Cases

Why Armen Alchian Is the GOAT

Tyler Cowen has a new online book out titled “GOAT: Who is the Greatest Economist of All Time, and Why Does it Matter?” While there are potential problems in treating ideas like basketball, the project is a fun, fast read overall. As the author of a newsletter with frequent gifs, I’m all for encouraging light-hearted ... Why Armen Alchian Is the GOAT

What Does NetChoice v. Bonta Mean for KOSA and Other Attempts to Protect Children Online?

With yet another win for NetChoice in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California—this time a preliminary injunction granted against California’s Age Appropriate Design Code (AADC)—it is worth asking what this means for the federally proposed Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and other laws of similar import that have been considered in ... What Does NetChoice v. Bonta Mean for KOSA and Other Attempts to Protect Children Online?

Right to Anonymous Speech, Part 3: Anonymous Speech and Age-Verification Laws

An issue that came up during a terrific panel that I participated in last Thursday—organized by the Federalist Society’s Regulatory Transparency Project—was whether age-verification laws for social-media use infringed on a First Amendment right of either adults or minors to receive speech anonymously. My co-panelist Clare Morell of the Ethics and Public Policy Center put ... Right to Anonymous Speech, Part 3: Anonymous Speech and Age-Verification Laws

Minor Matters in Cyberspace: Examining Internet Age-Verification Regulations

I participated yesterday in a webinar panel hosted by the Federalist Society’s Regulatory Transparency Project. The video was livestreamed at YouTube. Below, I offer my opening remarks, with some links. Thank you for having me. As mentioned, I’m a senior scholar in innovation policy at the International Center for Law & Economics (ICLE). This means ... Minor Matters in Cyberspace: Examining Internet Age-Verification Regulations

Note to the FTC: Punishing Efficiency Means Destroying Competition

Yesterday, Lina Khan’s FTC released their long-awaited draft merger guidelines for public comment. Regrettably yet not unsurprisingly, the new guidelines are a radical departure from established case law and antitrust thinking. They’re marked by a failure to account for the role of efficiencies in the competitive process, and a failure to distinguish between the implications of generally ... Note to the FTC: Punishing Efficiency Means Destroying Competition

No, Mergers Are Not Like ‘The Ultimate Cartel’

There is a line of thinking according to which, without merger-control rules, antitrust law is “incomplete.”[1] Without such a regime, the argument goes, whenever a group of companies faces with the risk of being penalized for cartelizing, they could instead merge and thus “raise prices without any legal consequences.”[2] A few months ago, at a ... No, Mergers Are Not Like ‘The Ultimate Cartel’

Unpacking the Flawed 2021 Draft USPTO, NIST, & DOJ Policy Statement on Standard-Essential Patents (SEPs)

Responding to a new draft policy statement from the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division (DOJ) regarding remedies for infringement of standard-essential patents (SEPs), a group of 19 distinguished law, economics, and business scholars convened by the International Center ... Unpacking the Flawed 2021 Draft USPTO, NIST, & DOJ Policy Statement on Standard-Essential Patents (SEPs)

10 Things the American Innovation and Choice Online Act Gets Wrong

The Senate Judiciary Committee is set to debate S. 2992, the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (or AICOA) during a markup session Thursday. If passed into law, the bill would force online platforms to treat rivals’ services as they would their own, while ensuring their platforms interoperate seamlessly. The bill marks the culmination of ... 10 Things the American Innovation and Choice Online Act Gets Wrong

Intermediaries: The Hero We Need?

In policy discussions about the digital economy, a background assumption that frequently underlies the discourse is that intermediaries and centralization always and only serve as a cost to consumers, and to society more generally. Thus, one commonly sees arguments that consumers would be better off if they could freely combine products from different trading partners. ... Intermediaries: The Hero We Need?

Political Philosophy, Competition, and Competition Law: The Road to and from Neoliberalism, Part 1

The interplay among political philosophy, competition, and competition law remains, with some notable exceptions, understudied in the literature. Indeed, while examinations of the intersection between economics and competition law have taught us much, relatively little has been said about the value frameworks within which different visions of competition and competition law operate. As Ronald Coase ... Political Philosophy, Competition, and Competition Law: The Road to and from Neoliberalism, Part 1