Showing archive for: “AI & Big Data”
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)
Lambert & Sykuta Comment to FTC on Common Ownership
The Federal Trade Commission will soon hold hearings on Competition and Consumer Protection in the 21st Century. The topics to be considered include: The state of antitrust and consumer protection law and enforcement, and their development, since the [1995] Pitofsky hearings; Competition and consumer protection issues in communication, information and media technology networks; The identification ... Lambert & Sykuta Comment to FTC on Common Ownership
A Pro-Free Market Approach to Brexit Negotiations Is Key
The terms of the United Kingdom’s (UK) exit from the European Union (EU) – “Brexit” – are of great significance not just to UK and EU citizens, but for those in the United States and around the world who value economic liberty (see my Heritage Foundation memorandum giving the reasons why, here). If Brexit is ... A Pro-Free Market Approach to Brexit Negotiations Is Key
A few thoughts on the European Commission decision against Google
Regardless of the merits and soundness (or lack thereof) of this week’s European Commission Decision in the Google Shopping case — one cannot assess this until we have the text of the decision — two comments really struck me during the press conference. First, it was said that Google’s conduct had essentially reduced innovation. If ... A few thoughts on the European Commission decision against Google
Speaking at events next week on privacy/data security and merger enforcement
I’ll be participating in two excellent antitrust/consumer protection events next week in DC, both of which may be of interest to our readers: 5th Annual Public Policy Conference on the Law & Economics of Privacy and Data Security hosted by the GMU Law & Economics Center’s Program on Economics & Privacy, in partnership with the ... Speaking at events next week on privacy/data security and merger enforcement
Innovation trends in agriculture and their implications for M&A analysis
The US agriculture sector has been experiencing consolidation at all levels for decades, even as the global ag economy has been growing and becoming more diverse. Much of this consolidation has been driven by technological changes that created economies of scale, both at the farm level and beyond. Likewise, the role of technology has changed ... Innovation trends in agriculture and their implications for M&A analysis
The Essential Facility of Obama’s Competition Policy
It appears that White House’s zeal for progressive-era legal theory has … progressed (or regressed?) further. Late last week President Obama signed an Executive Order that nominally claims to direct executive agencies (and “strongly encourages” independent agencies) to adopt “pro-competitive” policies. It’s called Steps to Increase Competition and Better Inform Consumers and Workers to Support ... The Essential Facility of Obama’s Competition Policy
Wyndham Decision Highlights FTC Role in Cybersecurity: Legal and Policy Considerations
On August 24, the Third Circuit issued its much anticipated decision in FTC v. Wyndham Worldwide Corp., holding that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has authority to challenge cybersecurity practices under its statutory “unfairness” authority. This case brings into focus both legal questions regarding the scope of the FTC’s cybersecurity authority and policy questions ... Wyndham Decision Highlights FTC Role in Cybersecurity: Legal and Policy Considerations
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
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.
