What Antitrust Scholars Can Learn from the Bronze Age Collapse
There is an emerging debate regarding whether complexity theory—which, among other things, draws lessons about uncertainty and non-linearity from the natural sciences—should make inroads into antitrust (see, e.g., Nicolas Petit and Thibault Schrepel, 2022). Of course, one might also say that antitrust is already quite late to the party. Since the 1990s, complexity theory has ... What Antitrust Scholars Can Learn from the Bronze Age Collapse
Are All Mergers Inherently Anticompetitive?
A recent viral video captures a prevailing sentiment in certain corners of social media, and among some competition scholars, about how mergers supposedly work in the real world: firms start competing on price, one firm loses out, that firm agrees to sell itself to the other firm and, finally, prices are jacked up.(Warning: Keep the ... Are All Mergers Inherently Anticompetitive?
FTC UMC Roundup – Call for Submissions Edition
It’s been a busy summer, and promises to be a busier fall. So the UMC Roundup is on hiatus this week. But because the news doesn’t stop even when we do, we’re using this week’s Roundup to announce a call for submissions relating to the FTC’s ANPR on Commercial Surveillance and Data Security. Submissions relating ... FTC UMC Roundup – Call for Submissions Edition
FTC UMC Roundup – Well That Happened Edition
I thought this was going to be a slow week. The Senate is in recess and, with so much recent attention focused on the Senate and AICOA – and the FTC’s had only just started things with the Meta/Within suit – it seemed this would be a slow week. We actually considered taking a recess ... FTC UMC Roundup – Well That Happened Edition
Three Big Pitfalls in the Way of Lina Khan’s Agenda
In a recent op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, Svetlana Gans and Eugene Scalia look at three potential traps the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) could trigger if it pursues the aggressive rulemaking agenda many have long been expecting. From their opening: FTC Chairman Lina Khan has Rooseveltian ambitions for the agency. … Within weeks the FTC is ... Three Big Pitfalls in the Way of Lina Khan’s Agenda
FTC UMC Roundup – A Quantum of Wonder Edition
Early August is an unpredictable time in the policy world. With Congress about to go on recess, one never knows if there will be a mad rush to get something done, or what that something may be. And it is, for many, a month of vacations and light schedules. Short staffing may delay work or ... FTC UMC Roundup – A Quantum of Wonder Edition
Antitrust’s Uncertain Future Roundup: The Minority Report
[TOTM: The following is part of a digital symposium by TOTM guests and authors on Antitrust’s Uncertain Future: Visions of Competition in the New Regulatory Landscape. Information on the authors and the entire series of posts is available here.] Philip K Dick’s novella “The Minority Report” describes a futuristic world without crime. This state of the ... Antitrust’s Uncertain Future Roundup: The Minority Report
The Road to Antitrust’s Least Glorious Hour
Things are heating up in the antitrust world. There is considerable pressure to pass the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (AICOA) before the congressional recess in August—a short legislative window before members of Congress shift their focus almost entirely to campaigning for the mid-term elections. While it would not be impossible to advance the ... The Road to Antitrust’s Least Glorious Hour
Waking up to Platform Regulation
Brrring! “Gee, this iPhone alarm is the worst—I should really change that sometime. Let’s see what’s in my calendar for today…” In accordance with new regulatory requirements, Apple is providing you with a choice of app stores. Please select an option from the menu below. Going forward, iOS applications will download via the selected store ... Waking up to Platform Regulation
The Four Ways of Spending Data
In Free to Choose, Milton Friedman famously noted that there are four ways to spend money[1]: Spending your own money on yourself. For example, buying groceries or lunch. There is a strong incentive to economize and to get full value. Spending your own money on someone else. For example, buying a gift for another. There ... The Four Ways of Spending Data
A Day in the Fair New World of Perfectly Open Platforms
Early Morning I wake up grudgingly to the loud ring of my phone’s preset alarm sound (I swear I gave third-party alarms a fair shot). I slide my feet into the bedroom slippers and mechanically chaperone my body to the coffee machine in the living room. “Great,” I think to myself, “Out of capsules, again.” ... A Day in the Fair New World of Perfectly Open Platforms
The Woman in the High Office
May 2007, Palo Alto The California sun shone warmly on Eric Schmidt’s face as he stepped out of his car and made his way to have dinner at Madera, a chic Palo Alto restaurant. Dining out was a welcome distraction from the endless succession of strategy meetings with the nitpickers of the law department, which ... The Woman in the High Office
