Showing archive for: “Broadband”
Brexit, Competition, and Economic Welfare
A key issue raised by the United Kingdom’s (UK) withdrawal from the European Union (EU) – popularly referred to as Brexit – is its implications for competition and economic welfare. The competition issue is rather complex. Various potentially significant UK competition policy reforms flowing from Brexit that immediately suggest themselves are briefly summarized below. (These ... Brexit, Competition, and Economic Welfare
The FCC’s proposed broadband privacy rules: The harmful effects of regulating without evidence or analysis
Last week the International Center for Law & Economics filed comments on the FCC’s Broadband Privacy NPRM. ICLE was joined in its comments by the following scholars of law & economics: Babette E. Boliek, Associate Professor of Law, Pepperdine School of Law Adam Candeub, Professor of Law, Michigan State University College of Law Justin (Gus) Hurwitz, Assistant Professor of ... The FCC’s proposed broadband privacy rules: The harmful effects of regulating without evidence or analysis
Opening Pandora’s set-top box: ICLE’s comments on the FCC’s “unlocking the box” NPRM
On Friday the the International Center for Law & Economics filed comments with the FCC in response to Chairman Wheeler’s NPRM (proposed rules) to “unlock” the MVPD (i.e., cable and satellite subscription video, essentially) set-top box market. Plenty has been written on the proposed rulemaking—for a few quick hits (among many others) see, e.g., Richard ... Opening Pandora’s set-top box: ICLE’s comments on the FCC’s “unlocking the box” NPRM
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
FCC Should Not Regulate Broadband Providers’ Privacy Policies and Instead Defer to the FTC
Earlier this month, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Tom Wheeler released a “fact sheet” describing his proposal to have the FCC regulate the privacy policies of broadband Internet service providers (ISPs). Chairman Wheeler’s detailed proposal will be embodied in a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that the FCC may take up as early as March ... FCC Should Not Regulate Broadband Providers’ Privacy Policies and Instead Defer to the FTC
Time To Make The Donuts: Self-Help Agreements and ICANN Accountability
It seems like debates that involve the ability to access the Internet fall into absolutism very quickly. One could almost construct a corollary of Godwin’s law: As the length of a policy discussion involving the Internet increases, the probability of someone claiming a nefarious plot to destroy the Internet approaches 1. Should there be zero-rated ... Time To Make The Donuts: Self-Help Agreements and ICANN Accountability
The FCC distorted market realities to scuttle the Comcast-TWC merger
Last week, FCC General Counsel Jonathan Sallet pulled back the curtain on the FCC staff’s analysis behind its decision to block Comcast’s acquisition of Time Warner Cable. As the FCC staff sets out on its reported Rainbow Tour to reassure regulated companies that it’s not “hostile to the industries it regulates,” Sallet’s remarks suggest it will ... The FCC distorted market realities to scuttle the Comcast-TWC merger
Josh Wright, Commissioner-Provocateur
Much ink will be spilled at this site lauding Commissioner Joshua (Josh) Wright’s many contributions to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and justly so. I will focus narrowly on Josh Wright as a law and economics “provocateur,” who used his writings and speeches to “stir the pot” and subject the FTC’s actions to a law ... Josh Wright, Commissioner-Provocateur
Ajit Pai on Joshua Wright
I was saddened to learn that Commissioner Joshua Wright is resigning from the Federal Trade Commission. Commissioner Wright leaves the agency with a tremendous legacy. He brought to the FTC’s decision-making groundbreaking economic analysis, such as his opinion in Ardagh/St. Gobain that the government should evaluate possible merger efficiencies under a standard of proof similar ... Ajit Pai on Joshua Wright
ICLE and leading academics file amicus brief urging the court to overturn the FCC’s illegal net neutrality order
Yesterday, the International Center for Law & Economics, together with Professor Gus Hurwitz, Nebraska College of Law, and nine other scholars of law and economics, filed an amicus brief in the DC Circuit explaining why the court should vacate the FCC’s 2015 Open Internet Order. A few key points from ICLE’s brief follow, but you can read a longer summary ... ICLE and leading academics file amicus brief urging the court to overturn the FCC’s illegal net neutrality order
Don’t wanna brag or nothin, but critics have been right about net neutrality so far: TWC complaint and the Consumer Watchdog petition show it
Remember when net neutrality wasn’t going to involve rate regulation and it was crazy to say that it would? Or that it wouldn’t lead to regulation of edge providers? Or that it was only about the last mile and not interconnection? Well, if the early petitions and complaints are a preview of more to come, ... Don’t wanna brag or nothin, but critics have been right about net neutrality so far: TWC complaint and the Consumer Watchdog petition show it
The FTC, not the FCC, Should Police Internet Abuses
The FCC’s proposed “Open Internet Order,” which would impose heavy-handed “common carrier” regulation of Internet service providers (the Order is being appealed in federal court and there are good arguments for striking it down) in order to promote “net neutrality,” is fundamentally misconceived. If upheld, it will slow innovation, impose substantial costs, and harm consumers ... The FTC, not the FCC, Should Police Internet Abuses
