Showing archive for: “DOJ”
My Fellow Americans, Our Long National Nightmare/Recent 43-Day Congressional Dysfunction Is Over
I’m not sure I’ve quoted Gerald Ford here before, but never mind that. The big news at the agencies—not least the antitrust agencies, but in this case, all of them—is that we the people of the United States of America are once more, as a polity, back in “business.” The federal government is now funded ... My Fellow Americans, Our Long National Nightmare/Recent 43-Day Congressional Dysfunction Is Over
Nobel Prize Winners’ Work Supports Dynamic Antitrust Enforcement
Antitrust should center on dynamic market forces that drive major technological change, rather than on static “big is bad” market analysis, based on the work of the 2025 economics Nobel Prize winners. Antitrust enforcers in the United States and around the world could benefit by incorporating these insights into their policy development. Focus on Dynamic ... Nobel Prize Winners’ Work Supports Dynamic Antitrust Enforcement
What Competition Scholars Should Know About the 2025 Economics Nobel
The 2025 Economics Nobel went to Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion, and Peter Howitt for exploring innovation-driven economic growth. I already wrote a general explainer about the prize. Here I want to make a different claim: If you work in antitrust, you should pay particular attention to their scholarship. Their work, especially that of Aghion and ... What Competition Scholars Should Know About the 2025 Economics Nobel
How the White House’s AI Action Plan Could End Antitrust Overreach
The AI Action Plan unveiled in July by President Donald Trump could mark a turning point for U.S. antitrust policy. By directing the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to prioritize innovation, the plan offers a historic opportunity to lift onerous regulatory burdens, restore measured enforcement, and repudiate the overreaches of former FTC Chair Lina Khan’s regime. ... How the White House’s AI Action Plan Could End Antitrust Overreach
Antitrust at the Agencies: Happy New Year 5786 Edition
It’s the beginning of a new year for some of us, so let me wish all of you a good year, and a sweet year, even if you don’t know what I’m talking about. Private Anticompetitive Censorship Continued? Turning back to the agency beat: in a Sept. 7 guest essay in The New York Times, ... Antitrust at the Agencies: Happy New Year 5786 Edition
The Google Remedies Decision and Big Tech Antitrust
U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta’s Sept. 2 remedies opinion in the U.S. v. Google monopolization (Google Search) case is, in large part, a rejection of government regulation of digital platforms in the guise of antitrust. The limited and cabined conduct-related remedies it imposes are far less significant than its rejection of the U.S. Justice Department’s (DOJ) proposed conduct ... The Google Remedies Decision and Big Tech Antitrust
Antitrust at the Agencies: Moderation in All Things Edition
This Just In Judge Amit P. Mehta’s memorandum opinion in the Google Search case has dropped. It’s 230 pages, and I’ve merely skimmed it. A careful discussion–from me or anyone else–will wait a bit. For now, the remedies are quite a bit more than Google had proposed, but at the same time, a good deal ... Antitrust at the Agencies: Moderation in All Things Edition
Charter/Cox Merger Review and the Rule of Law
Charter Communications Inc. and Cox Communications Inc.—both providers of cable and broadband—are seeking approval of their proposed merger from the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) and Federal Communications Commission (FCC). While the prior administration’s enforcement agencies—who often relied on static market-share snapshots to pursue antitrust claims and failed to consider broader market dynamics—might have sued to block this ... Charter/Cox Merger Review and the Rule of Law
Reducing Merger Uncertainty Could Help the American Economy
The second Trump administration has been signaling a move away from the Biden administration’s policy of actively discouraging mergers. This change in direction could benefit the U.S. economy. But some merger uncertainty remains, rooted in the administration’s decision to retain 2023 merger guidelines. Targeted revisions to those guidelines—or, at the very least, public pronouncements designed ... Reducing Merger Uncertainty Could Help the American Economy
M&A Enforcement Easing Under the Trump Administration
The federal antitrust agencies appear to be easing up on merger enforcement, ditching a Biden administration policy of discouraging mergers. This change in direction could promote enhanced American innovation and economic growth. M&A Economic Benefits Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) generate various major economic benefits: They reallocate badly managed commercial assets to higher-valued uses, raising business ... M&A Enforcement Easing Under the Trump Administration
Antitrust and Collusion on Regulating Misinformation: Thoughts on the DOJ’s Statement of Interest
The U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) Antitrust Division filed a statement of interest late last week in a private antitrust case brought against a number of major news publishers by, among others, the Children’s Health Defense—the organization previously chaired by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Nominally, the DOJ’s statement can be ... Antitrust and Collusion on Regulating Misinformation: Thoughts on the DOJ’s Statement of Interest
Competition Law and Technology-Platform Censorship
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently launched a public inquiry into technology platform censorship. Digital-platform censorship clearly raises serious policy concerns. Nevertheless, before filing lawsuits, the FTC and its fellow enforcement agency, the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) will need to factor in platforms’ First Amendment protections and limitations on agency statutory authority. Bringing platform-censorship cases may ... Competition Law and Technology-Platform Censorship
