Showing results for: “digital markets act”
Privacy and Security Risks of Interoperability and Sideloading Mandates
There has been a wave of legislative proposals on both sides of the Atlantic that purport to improve consumer choice and the competitiveness of digital markets. In a new working paper published by the Stanford-Vienna Transatlantic Technology Law Forum, I analyzed five such bills: the EU Digital Services Act, the EU Digital Markets Act, and ... Privacy and Security Risks of Interoperability and Sideloading Mandates
App Stores as Public Utilities?
In a new paper, Giuseppe Colangelo and Oscar Borgogno investigate whether antitrust policy is sufficiently flexible to keep up with the dynamics of digital app stores, and whether regulatory interventions are required in order to address their unique features. The authors summarize their findings in this blog post. App stores are at the forefront of ... App Stores as Public Utilities?
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
10 Years After SOPA/PIPA, Congress Still Needs to Address Online Piracy
Activists who railed against the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) a decade ago today celebrate the 10th anniversary of their day of protest, which they credit with sending the bills down to defeat. Much of the anti-SOPA/PIPA campaign was based on a gauzy notion of “realizing [the] democratizing potential” ... 10 Years After SOPA/PIPA, Congress Still Needs to Address Online Piracy
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?
Amazon Italy’s Efficiency Offense
Early last month, the Italian competition authority issued a record 1.128 billion euro fine against Amazon for abuse of dominance under Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). In its order, the Agenzia Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (AGCM) essentially argues that Amazon has combined its Amazon.it marketplace ... Amazon Italy’s Efficiency Offense
Crusade Against ‘Big Meat’ Is Latest Example of Misguided Effort to Use Antitrust as Anti-Inflation Tool
As a new year dawns, the Biden administration remains fixated on illogical, counterproductive “big is bad” nostrums. Noted economist and former Clinton Treasury Secretary Larry Summers correctly stressed recently that using antitrust to fight inflation represents “science denial,” tweeting that: https://twitter.com/LHSummers/status/1475230229715161088?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1475230229715161088%7Ctwgr%5E96a71298bebab919293b15f5c86903f5e1c33519%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Flaweconcenter.wpengine.com%2F2022%2F01%2F05%2Fcrusade-against-big-meat-is-latest-example-of-misguided-effort-to-use-antitrust-as-anti-inflation-tool%2F In his extended Twitter thread, Summers notes that labor shortages are the primary cause ... Crusade Against ‘Big Meat’ Is Latest Example of Misguided Effort to Use Antitrust as Anti-Inflation Tool
U.S. Senate Self-Preferencing Bill Offers Perfect Recipe for Regulatory Overreach
Even as delivery services work to ship all of those last-minute Christmas presents that consumers bought this season from digital platforms and other e-commerce sites, the U.S. House and Senate are contemplating Grinch-like legislation that looks to stop or limit how Big Tech companies can “self-preference” or “discriminate” on their platforms. A platform “self-preferences” when ... U.S. Senate Self-Preferencing Bill Offers Perfect Recipe for Regulatory Overreach
FTC Statement of Regulatory Priorities: Storm Clouds Are Looming
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) appears committed—at least, for the moment—to a path of regulatory overreach. The commission’s Dec. 10 Statement of Regulatory Priorities (SRP) offers, in addition to a periodic review of existing rules and the status of proposed rules in the pipeline, a sneak preview of new “unfair methods of competition” (UMC) and ... FTC Statement of Regulatory Priorities: Storm Clouds Are Looming
Merger Control’s Misaligned Incentives
Antitrust policymakers around the world have taken a page out of the Silicon Valley playbook and decided to “move fast and break things.” While the slogan is certainly catchy, applying it to the policymaking world is unfortunate and, ultimately, threatens to harm consumers. Several antitrust authorities in recent months have announced their intention to block ... Merger Control’s Misaligned Incentives
Italy’s Google and Apple Decisions: Regulatory Paternalism and Overenforcement
The Autorità Garante della Concorenza e del Mercato (AGCM), Italy’s competition and consumer-protection watchdog, on Nov. 25 handed down fines against Google and Apple of €10 million each—the maximum penalty contemplated by the law—for alleged unfair commercial practices. Ultimately, the two decisions stand as textbook examples of why regulators should, wherever possible, strongly defer to ... Italy’s Google and Apple Decisions: Regulatory Paternalism and Overenforcement
FTC Challenge to Nvidia-Arm Vertical Merger: Potential Efficiency Justifications
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Dec. 2 filed an administrative complaint to block the vertical merger between Nvidia Corp., a graphics chip supplier, and Arm Ltd., a computing-processor designer. The press release accompanying the complaint stresses the allegation that “the combined firm would have the means and incentive to stifle innovative next-generation technologies, including ... FTC Challenge to Nvidia-Arm Vertical Merger: Potential Efficiency Justifications
