Showing archive for: “Barriers to Entry”
Rethinking Competitor Collaboration in the AI Era
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) have opened a joint public inquiry into whether to update antitrust guidance for collaborations among competitors. That’s good news. Modern markets—especially those shaped by artificial intelligence—need clear rules that distinguish genuinely harmful collusion from productive, welfare-enhancing cooperation. No one seriously disputes that naked price-fixing ... Rethinking Competitor Collaboration in the AI Era
The Great AI Monopoly That Wasn’t
Predictions of AI-driven monopoly have outpaced the evidence. Several years into the generative AI boom, regulators have investigated, firms have invested, and markets have shifted—yet durable market power and demonstrable competitive harm remain elusive. More than a year ago, Dirk Auer and I challenged the “hyperbolic and dystopian” narrative dominating discussions about competition in artificial-intelligence ... The Great AI Monopoly That Wasn’t
Regulating the Tool or the Trouble? A Survey of State AI Bills
Debates about federal preemption in artificial-intelligence (AI) policy often pose a stark choice: Congress adopts a national framework and states lose the ability to police harmful conduct, or states retain broad authority and businesses face a 50-state compliance patchwork that chills innovation. Our review of state AI bills suggests the debate is aimed at the ... Regulating the Tool or the Trouble? A Survey of State AI Bills
The Platform in Your Living Room
Over the last few decades, antitrust scholars and practitioners have scrutinized the role of platforms—particularly intermediaries—in the internet economy. Many intermediary platforms also compete in the markets they facilitate. That dual role raises familiar concerns about self-preferencing and the risk that a firm may advantage its own products or services. Regulators have focused primarily on ... The Platform in Your Living Room
The Government Enters the Data-Sharing Game
The U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) recently announced a proposed settlement with RealPage Inc. that would strictly prohibit the company from using competitors’ nonpublic data in its rental-pricing software. Curiously, that remedy is nearly the precise opposite of the September order from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in a suit the DOJ ... The Government Enters the Data-Sharing Game
The View from Brazil: A TOTM Q&A with Gustavo Augusto Freitas de Lima
Gustavo, could you please tell us a bit about yourself and your professional background? I’m a law practitioner with a master’s degree in law and public policy, specializing in constitutional and administrative law. I served as a federal attorney and litigator before the Brazilian Supreme Court and was appointed by the attorney general as the ... The View from Brazil: A TOTM Q&A with Gustavo Augusto Freitas de Lima
Beyond Market Definition: Key Economic Concepts in FTC v Amazon
The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) antitrust suit against Amazon, originally filed in October 2023, is scheduled for trial in October 2026. While we’ve previously explored the market-definition questions at the center of this case, several other economic concepts will be equally important in determining whether Amazon has violated antitrust laws. Ahead of a scheduled March ... Beyond Market Definition: Key Economic Concepts in FTC v Amazon
DeepSeek Shows Why Regulators May Be Getting AI Wrong
For more than a year, competition regulators around the globe have been unified in issuing a clarion call that artificial intelligence (AI) risks becoming dominated by just a handful of firms. International competition agencies issued a joint statement in December warning that AI could entrench “market power” and reduce competition. Andreas Mundt, president of Germany’s ... DeepSeek Shows Why Regulators May Be Getting AI Wrong
Parsing Brazil’s ‘More Flexible’ Approach to Digital Markets
Following an extensive consultation period, Brazil’s Ministério da Fazenda (Ministry of Finance) last October unveiled its final digital-platform report. Given the public stances previously taken by Brazil’s would-be digital regulators—the antitrust agency Conselho Administrativo de Defesa Econômica (CADE) and the telecommunications regulator Agência Nacional de Telecomunicações (Anatel)—it was likely inevitable that the report would endorse ... Parsing Brazil’s ‘More Flexible’ Approach to Digital Markets
The View from India: A TOTM Q&A with Shivanghi Sukumar
Could you tell us a bit about your background and how you got interested in digital competition regulation? I am a competition lawyer, and have been practicing competition law in India since the early days of its enforcement. A big part of my work has been related to the enforcement of behavioral provisions, and I’ve ... The View from India: A TOTM Q&A with Shivanghi Sukumar
Don’t Believe the Hype (on Competition and AI)
As in the Public Enemy song that gives this post its title, the hype about alleged competition risks in the artificial intelligence (AI) “market” is a sequel—and not a good one—to the hyperbolic and dystopian view that has informed several recent antitrust-policy proposals and demands for tougher enforcement of competition laws, particularly in digital markets. ... Don’t Believe the Hype (on Competition and AI)
Mi Mercado Es Su Mercado: The Flawed Competition Analysis of Mexico’s COFECE
Mexico’s Federal Economic Competition Commission (COFECE, after its Spanish acronym) has published the preliminary report it prepared following its investigation of competition in the retail electronic-commerce market (e.g., Amazon). The report finds that: there are elements to preliminarily determine that there are no conditions of effective competition in the Relevant Market of Sellers and in ... Mi Mercado Es Su Mercado: The Flawed Competition Analysis of Mexico’s COFECE
