The Third Circuit pushes back on FCC’s unjustified rule on joint sales agreements
While we all wait on pins and needles for the DC Circuit to issue its long-expected ruling on the FCC’s Open Internet Order, another federal appeals court has pushed back on Tom Wheeler’s FCC for its unremitting “just trust us” approach to federal rulemaking. The case, round three of Prometheus, et al. v. FCC, involves ... The Third Circuit pushes back on FCC’s unjustified rule on joint sales agreements
The Ball-Rexam merger: The case for a competitive can market
A number of blockbuster mergers have received (often negative) attention from media and competition authorities in recent months. From the recently challenged Staples-Office Depot merger to the abandoned Comcast-Time Warner merger to the heavily scrutinized Aetna-Humana merger (among many others), there has been a wave of potential mega-mergers throughout the economy—many of them met with ... The Ball-Rexam merger: The case for a competitive can market
The competitive implications of the Affordable Care Act for health insurance merger review
Last week concluded round 3 of Congressional hearings on mergers in the healthcare provider and health insurance markets. Much like the previous rounds, the hearing saw predictable representatives, of predictable constituencies, saying predictable things. The pattern is pretty clear: The American Hospital Association (AHA) makes the case that mergers in the provider market are good ... The competitive implications of the Affordable Care Act for health insurance merger review
The Good, Bad, and the Ugly of the EU’s Proposed Data Protection Regulation
Nearly all economists from across the political spectrum agree: free trade is good. Yet free trade agreements are not always the same thing as free trade. Whether we’re talking about the Trans-Pacific Partnership or the European Union’s Digital Single Market (DSM) initiative, the question is always whether the agreement in question is reducing barriers to ... The Good, Bad, and the Ugly of the EU’s Proposed Data Protection Regulation
Don’t wanna brag or nothin, but critics have been right about net neutrality so far: TWC complaint and the Consumer Watchdog petition show it
Remember when net neutrality wasn’t going to involve rate regulation and it was crazy to say that it would? Or that it wouldn’t lead to regulation of edge providers? Or that it was only about the last mile and not interconnection? Well, if the early petitions and complaints are a preview of more to come, ... Don’t wanna brag or nothin, but critics have been right about net neutrality so far: TWC complaint and the Consumer Watchdog petition show it
New Paper: The Problems and Perils of Bootstrapping Privacy and Data into an Antitrust Framework
The CPI Antitrust Chronicle published Geoffrey Manne’s and my recent paper, The Problems and Perils of Bootstrapping Privacy and Data into an Antitrust Framework as part of a symposium on Big Data in the May 2015 issue. All of the papers are worth reading and pondering, but of course ours is the best ;). In it, ... New Paper: The Problems and Perils of Bootstrapping Privacy and Data into an Antitrust Framework
Debunking the Myth of a Data Barrier to Entry for Online Services
Recent years have seen an increasing interest in incorporating privacy into antitrust analysis. The FTC and regulators in Europe have rejected these calls so far, but certain scholars and activists continue their attempts to breathe life into this novel concept. Elsewhere we have written at length on the scholarship addressing the issue and found the ... Debunking the Myth of a Data Barrier to Entry for Online Services
Innovation Death Panels and Other Economic Shortcomings of the White House Proposed Privacy Bill
In short, all of this hand-wringing over privacy is largely a tempest in a teapot — especially when one considers the extent to which the White House and other government bodies have studiously ignored the real threat: government misuse of data à la the NSA. It’s almost as if the White House is deliberately shifting the public's gaze from the reality of extensive government spying by directing it toward a fantasy world of nefarious corporations abusing private information…. The White House’s proposed bill is emblematic of many government “fixes” to largely non-existent privacy issues, and it exhibits the same core defects that undermine both its claims and its proposed solutions. As a result, the proposed bill vastly overemphasizes regulation to the dangerous detriment of the innovative benefits of Big Data for consumers and society at large.
Interesting Upcoming Law and Economics Center Privacy Event
On Wednesday, March 18, our fellow law-and-economics-focused brethren at George Mason’s Law and Economics Center will host a very interesting morning briefing on the intersection of privacy, big data, consumer protection, and antitrust. FTC Commissioner Maureen Ohlhausen will keynote and she will be followed by what looks like will be a lively panel discussion. If you are in ... Interesting Upcoming Law and Economics Center Privacy Event
How the Court’s “looks-like-cable-tv” test in Aereo protects the cloud
In our blog post this morning on ABC v. Aereo, we explain why, regardless of which test applies (the majority’s “looks-like-cable-TV” test or the dissent’s volitional conduct test), Aereo infringes on television program owners’ exclusive right under the Copyright Act to publicly perform their works. We also explain why the majority’s test is far less ambiguous than its critics ... How the Court’s “looks-like-cable-tv” test in Aereo protects the cloud
Why the Supreme Court’s Aereo Decision Protects Creators Without Endangering the Cloud
Yesterday, the Supreme Court released its much-awaited decision in ABC v. Aereo. The Court reversed the Second Circuit, holding that Aereo directly infringed the copyrights of broadcast television program owners by publicly performing their works without permission. Justice Breyer, who wrote the opinion for the Court, was joined by five other Justices, including Chief Justice ... Why the Supreme Court’s Aereo Decision Protects Creators Without Endangering the Cloud
A Supreme Court ruling against Aereo won’t spell the end of cloud computing
Interested observers on all sides of the contentious debate over Aereo have focused a great deal on the implications for cloud computing if the Supreme Court rules against Aereo. The Court hears oral argument next week, and the cloud computing issue is sure to make an appearance. Several parties that filed amicus briefs in the ... A Supreme Court ruling against Aereo won’t spell the end of cloud computing
