Showing archive for: “Consumer Welfare Standard”
Antitrust at the Agencies Roundup: Rounding up the Roundups
It’s Not All About Price, Except When We Say So I don’t know if this is the end of an era, the end of an error, a bit of both, or something far more complicated than that, but let’s start with Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Commissioner Melissa Holyoak’s dissent in In the Matter of Southern ... Antitrust at the Agencies Roundup: Rounding up the Roundups
The View from Korea: A TOTM Q&A with Dae Sik Hong
Professor Hong, could you please tell us a bit more about your background and how you got interested in digital competition regulation? In South Korea, I have unique combined experience as a court judge and as an antitrust specialist at a major law firm, conducting numerous research projects that connect theory and practice. I have ... The View from Korea: A TOTM Q&A with Dae Sik Hong
It May Be Time to Consider Reforming Global Competition Policy
As the incoming Trump administration contemplates ways to promote U.S. economic growth and innovation, it may wish to consider two possible new global competition-policy initiatives. These actions, if successful, could help protect American (and foreign) firms from foreign government impediments to effective competition. Antitrust Around the World Antitrust law (called competition law in other countries) ... It May Be Time to Consider Reforming Global Competition Policy
Reclaiming Antitrust
The United States is the birthplace of antitrust, starting with the enactment of the Sherman Antitrust Act in 1890. During the late 19th and early 20th century, cartels were common in Europe, while U.S. antitrust enforcers unraveled them. Only after World War II did European countries incrementally adopt competition law in various forms. Since that ... Reclaiming Antitrust
Why It May Be Time to Consider a Merger Policy Reset in 2025
The Biden administration’s federal antitrust regulators—the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)—have been widely perceived as actively discouraging mergers and acquisitions. This reflects the rejection of a longstanding bipartisan understanding that government would only oppose proposed M&A transactions that are likely to harm competition. The Biden approach arguably threatens to harm the ... Why It May Be Time to Consider a Merger Policy Reset in 2025
Assessing the Government’s Monopolization Case Against Visa
The U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) has initiated an antitrust monopolization case against Visa for various practices related to its debit-card services. The complaint centers on two primary theories of harm. The first is that Visa offers volume discounts in a manner that locks in merchant banks (or “acquirers”) into Visa’s debit-card network, which deprives rival ... Assessing the Government’s Monopolization Case Against Visa
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
Weighing DOJ’s Proposed Remedies for Google’s Monopolization
The U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) has proposed remedies to a federal judge who held that Google illegally monopolized web search. In reviewing the DOJ’s recommendations, the judge should take into account the downsides of particular remedies, as well as their potential benefits. The judge should be careful not to impose remedies that could reduce innovation ... Weighing DOJ’s Proposed Remedies for Google’s Monopolization
A Tale of Two App Stores
Dueling federal antitrust holdings dealing with app stores could have significant impacts on the future of competition in mobile-internet services. Going forward, antitrust policy in this area should focus on promoting consumer welfare and innovation, rather than the interests of particular competitors. App Store Basics Google and Apple compete vigorously for consumer favor in smartphones. ... A Tale of Two App Stores
Antitrust at the Agencies: PBM Madness at the FTC, Part 2
As I noted in my last post, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced Sept. 20 that it had filed a complaint: against the three largest prescription drug benefit managers (PBMs)—Caremark Rx, Express Scripts (ESI), and OptumRx—and their affiliated group purchasing organizations (GPOs) for engaging in anticompetitive and unfair rebating practices that have artificially inflated the ... Antitrust at the Agencies: PBM Madness at the FTC, Part 2
Preemptive Digital-Platform Rules Are Not Good Competition Policy, But They Were Never Meant to Be
Inspired by the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), a growing number of jurisdictions around the globe either have adopted or are considering adopting frameworks of preemptive digital-competition rules (DCRs) that would more closely regulate the business models of such platforms as Google’s search engine and Amazon’s e-commerce business. The Turkish government may soon join ... Preemptive Digital-Platform Rules Are Not Good Competition Policy, But They Were Never Meant to Be
FTC Sues ‘Big 3’ Pharmaceutical Benefit Managers
My last post highlighted a July 2024 Federal Trade Commission (FTC) interim staff report that was critical of pharmaceutical benefit managers (PBMs)—so-called “middlemen” firms that specialize in negotiating with drugmakers for rebates on the list prices of drugs. I explained that the interim report’s analysis is at odds with economic research that delineates the substantial economic benefits ... FTC Sues ‘Big 3’ Pharmaceutical Benefit Managers
