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
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
Abby Normal, a Flood of Ill-Considered Withdrawals, and the FTC’s Theatre of Listening
What will become of our culture if we forget the classics? Two bits seem salient here, would that either were my own. Dr. Frankenstein: Now, that brain you gave me. Was it Hans Delbruck’s? Igor: … [pause] … No. Dr. Frankenstein: Ah! Very good. Would you mind telling me whose brain I did put in? ... Abby Normal, a Flood of Ill-Considered Withdrawals, and the FTC’s Theatre of Listening
Antitrust at the Agencies Roundup: Take My Default … Please! Edition
I can hardly believe it, but I’ve read that a famous old bit by Henny Youngman has been purged from Florida textbooks, apparently because it was deemed offensive to those who wrote, told, and laughed at the joke. I won’t tell it here, but you can look it up. And if you’re a reader of ... Antitrust at the Agencies Roundup: Take My Default … Please! Edition
Antitrust at the Agencies Roundup: Back to the Past Edition
Labor Day approaches with most of us looking forward to a long weekend off, but there’s much in competition world looming on the horizon. As I am looking forward to a couple of days off, I’ll offer more of an annotated bibliography than analysis. But also a bit of discussion, because I am what I ... Antitrust at the Agencies Roundup: Back to the Past Edition
Antitrust at the Agencies Roundup: The Cat’s Tuches of Summer Edition
I had thought we were in the dog days of summer, but the Farmer’s Almanac tells me that I was wrong about that. It turns out that the phrase refers to certain specific dates on the calendar, not just to the hot and steamy days that descend on the nation’s capital in . . . ... Antitrust at the Agencies Roundup: The Cat’s Tuches of Summer Edition
Antitrust at the Agencies Roundup: Kill All the Widgets Edition
Over the river, into the woods, and down into the weeds we go. There’s a whole lot of drama going on at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), not least because of recent correspondence between the U.S. House Oversight Committee and FTC Chair Lina Khan that might politely—euphemistically, really—be termed “heated.” But I’m not gonna go ... Antitrust at the Agencies Roundup: Kill All the Widgets Edition
Antitrust at the Agencies Roundup: The Joint FTC/DOJ Guidelines to Nowhere (or Nowhere Good) Edition
The FTC and DOJ have done it: on July 19 they released the long awaited (or dreaded) draft merger guidelines, which . . . well, could have been worse, given current agency leadership, but could have been better (as demonstrated by the certainly imperfect, but still better, 2010 guidelines they replaced). Jumping on the agencies’ ... Antitrust at the Agencies Roundup: The Joint FTC/DOJ Guidelines to Nowhere (or Nowhere Good) Edition
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
Antitrust at the Agencies Roundup: Pruning the Data Tree Edition
In my last roundup, I puzzled over the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) suit to block Amgen’s acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics. The deal involved no product overlaps whatsoever (i.e., no horizontal competition), a target firm acknowledged to have no competitors for the orphan drugs at issue, and nobody poised to enter into competition either. I won’t ... Antitrust at the Agencies Roundup: Pruning the Data Tree Edition
Antitrust at the Agencies Roundup: The Orphan’s Hypothetical Competitor Edition
Some may refer to this as the Roundup Formerly Known as the FTC Roundup. If you recorded yourself while reading out loud, and your name is Dove, that is what it sounds like when doves sigh. Maybe He Never Said ‘Never’ The U.S. Justice Department’s (DOJ) Antitrust Division recently agreed to settle its challenge of Swedish conglomerate ... Antitrust at the Agencies Roundup: The Orphan’s Hypothetical Competitor Edition
Biweekly FTC Roundup: Bureau of Let’s-Sue-Meta Edition
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) might soon be charging rent to Meta Inc. The commission earlier this week issued (bear with me) an “Order to Show Cause why the Commission should not modify its Decision and Order, In the Matter of Facebook, Inc., Docket No. C-4365 (July 27, 2012), as modified by Order Modifying Prior Decision and Order, In ... Biweekly FTC Roundup: Bureau of Let’s-Sue-Meta Edition
