Showing results for: “digital markets act”
We need leaders that embrace complexity, not dumb it down
In a recent NY Times opinion piece, Tim Wu, like Elizabeth Holmes, lionizes Steve Jobs. Like Jobs with the iPod and iPhone, and Holmes with the Theranos Edison machine, Wu tells us we must simplify the public’s experience of complex policy into a simple box with an intuitive interface. In this spirit he argues that ... We need leaders that embrace complexity, not dumb it down
Is European Competition Law Protectionist? Unpacking the Commission’s Unflattering Track Record
Last month, the European Commission slapped another fine upon Google for infringing European competition rules (€1.49 billion this time). This brings Google’s contribution to the EU budget to a dizzying total of €8.25 billion (to put this into perspective, the total EU budget for 2019 is €165.8 billion). Given this massive number, and the geographic ... Is European Competition Law Protectionist? Unpacking the Commission’s Unflattering Track Record
Amazon is not essential
(The following is adapted from a recent ICLE Issue Brief on the flawed essential facilities arguments undergirding the EU competition investigations into Amazon’s marketplace that I wrote with Geoffrey Manne. The full brief is available here. ) Amazon has largely avoided the crosshairs of antitrust enforcers to date. The reasons seem obvious: in the US ... Amazon is not essential
This Too Shall Pass: Unassailable Monopolies That Were, in Hindsight, Eminently Assailable
[N]ew combinations are, as a rule, embodied, as it were, in new firms which generally do not arise out of the old ones but start producing beside them; … in general it is not the owner of stagecoaches who builds railways. – Joseph Schumpeter, January 1934 Elizabeth Warren wants to break up the tech giants ... This Too Shall Pass: Unassailable Monopolies That Were, in Hindsight, Eminently Assailable
Telecom regulators: Don’t get rolled by Rewheel
Will the merger between T-Mobile and Sprint make consumers better or worse off? A central question in the review of this merger—as it is in all merger reviews—is the likely effects that the transaction will have on consumers. In this post, we look at one study that opponents of the merger have been using to ... Telecom regulators: Don’t get rolled by Rewheel
Elizabeth Warren wants to turn the internet into a literal sewer (service)
Near the end of her new proposal to break up Facebook, Google, Amazon, and Apple, Senator Warren asks, “So what would the Internet look like after all these reforms?” It’s a good question, because, as she herself notes, “Twenty-five years ago, Facebook, Google, and Amazon didn’t exist. Now they are among the most valuable and ... Elizabeth Warren wants to turn the internet into a literal sewer (service)
Paul Rubin’s new book: The Capitalism Paradox: How Cooperation Enables Free Market Competition
Longtime TOTM blogger, Paul Rubin, has a new book now available for preorder on Amazon. The book’s description reads: In spite of its numerous obvious failures, many presidential candidates and voters are in favor of a socialist system for the United States. Socialism is consistent with our primitive evolved preferences, but not with a modern ... Paul Rubin’s new book: The Capitalism Paradox: How Cooperation Enables Free Market Competition
Reducing Duplicative Patent Challenges in the Drug Industry
On March 14, the Federal Circuit will hear oral arguments in the case of BTG International v. Amneal Pharmaceuticals that could dramatically influence the future of duplicative patent litigation in the pharmaceutical industry. The court will determine whether the America Invents Act (AIA) bars patent challengers that succeed in invalidating patents in inter partes review ... Reducing Duplicative Patent Challenges in the Drug Industry
Calling into Question the FTC’s Theory of the Case in FTC v. Qualcomm
This post does not attempt to answer the question of what the court should decide in FTC v. Qualcomm because we do not have access to the information that would allow us to make such a determination. Rather, we focus on economic issues confronting the court by drawing heavily from our writings in this area: ... Calling into Question the FTC’s Theory of the Case in FTC v. Qualcomm
Doing double damage: The German competition authority’s Facebook decision manages to undermine both antitrust and data protection law
The German Bundeskartellamt's Facebook decision is unsound from either a competition or privacy policy perspective, and will only make the fraught privacy/antitrust relationship worse.
The Mozilla oral arguments and the ongoing hell of the “net neutrality” debate
In the opening seconds of what was surely one of the worst oral arguments in a high-profile case that I have ever heard, Pantelis Michalopoulos, arguing for petitioners against the FCC’s 2018 Restoring Internet Freedom Order (RIFO) expertly captured both why the side he was representing should lose and the overall absurdity of the entire ... The Mozilla oral arguments and the ongoing hell of the “net neutrality” debate
The Australian approach to “consumer protection” policy is a threat to consumer welfare and free speech
The US Senate Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights recently held hearings to see what, if anything, the U.S. might learn from the approaches of other countries regarding antitrust and consumer protection. US lawmakers would do well to be wary of examples from other jurisdictions, however, that are rooted in different legal and ... The Australian approach to “consumer protection” policy is a threat to consumer welfare and free speech
