Showing archive for: “EU”
The End of An Era?
Well, perhaps not quite the end of an era given all of the intense antitrust scrutiny that continues in the high-tech sector. But it seems like it should not go without noting that the Microsoft case will officially come to an end on May 12th. The San Francisco Chronicle observes: In a final hearing in ... The End of An Era?
Google, Antitrust, and First Principles
I’ve read with interest over the last few days the commentary on Microsoft’s filing of a formal complaint with the EU, Microsoft’s defense of its actions, and the various stories around the web. Geoff and Paul appropriately focus on the error-cost concerns associated with intervention in high-tech markets; Paul also emphasizes the ironies associated with ... Google, Antitrust, and First Principles
Microsoft comes full circle
I am disappointed but not surprised to see that my former employer filed an official antitrust complaint against Google in the EU. The blog post by Microsoft’s GC, Brad Smith, summarizing its complaint is here. Most obviously, there is a tragic irony to the most antitrust-beleaguered company ever filing an antitrust complaint against its successful competitor. ... Microsoft comes full circle
Antitrust in Tech Industries
Two stories about Google indicate the dangers of antitrust in fast moving tech industries. Microsoft is urging the EU antitrust authorities to sue Google. (Microsoft was itself the victim of a massive antitrust action. I guess it is true that abusers are likely to have been themselves abused.) At the same time Google is ... Antitrust in Tech Industries
EU Bans Insurer Price Discrimination Based on Gender
From the WSJ: The European Union’s highest court declared illegal the widespread practice of charging men and women different rates for insurance, roiling the industry and setting in motion an overhaul of how life, auto and health policies are written across Europe.Two Belgian men had challenged the higher life-insurance premiums charged to members of their ... EU Bans Insurer Price Discrimination Based on Gender
Dan Crane’s The Institutional Structure of Antitrust Enforcement
Dan Crane’s new book is now available from Oxford University Press (HT: Danny Sokol). Dan has been a repeat visitor to TOTM, is a co-author, and his scholarship on is always insightful. I suspect this book will become a standard reference in the growing antitrust institutions literature. Here is the book description from the OUP ... Dan Crane’s The Institutional Structure of Antitrust Enforcement
Why can’t we have a better press corps?: WaPo Google antitrust edition
Steven Pearlstein at the Washington Post asks if it’s “Time to loosen Google’s grip.” The article is an analytical mess. Pearlstein is often a decent business reporter–I’m not sure what went wrong here, but this is a pretty shoddy piece of antitrust journalism. For the most part, the article is a series of tired claims ... Why can’t we have a better press corps?: WaPo Google antitrust edition
The EU tightens the noose around Google
Here we go again. The European Commission is after Google more formally than a few months ago (but not yet having issued a Statement of Objections). For background on the single-firm antitrust issues surrounding Google I modestly recommend my paper with Josh, Google and the Limits of Antitrust: The Case Against the Antitrust Case Against ... The EU tightens the noose around Google
Why Take Antitrust? (Fall 2010 Edition)
In what has become an annual affair, around this time of the year, I like to make the case for law students to take antitrust. Each year, the post is edited and tweaked a little bit. So, without further ado, here is this year’s edition of “Why Take Antitrust?” As the start of the new ... Why Take Antitrust? (Fall 2010 Edition)
Some Links
Intel and FTC settlement talks heat up (WSJ) Connecticut AG Richard Blumenthal leads state AG crusade against Google’s Street View data collection (WSJ) Some good coverage of the FTC Workshop on the future of journalism, i.e. whether and how to save newspapers (here, here and here) Greg Mankiw on crisis economics New antitrust complaint against ... Some Links
Comments on Jonathan Baker's Preserving a Political Bargain
I’ve recently finished reading Jonathan Baker’s Preserving a Political Bargain: The Political Economy of the Non-Interventionist Challenge to Monopolization Enforcement, forthcoming in the Antitrust Law Journal. Baker’s central thesis in Preserving a Political Bargain builds on earlier work concerning competition policy as an implicit political bargain that was reached during the 1940s between the more ... Comments on Jonathan Baker's Preserving a Political Bargain
David Balto (and the FTC) gets it woefully wrong on Intel
David Balto has penned a short apologia of the FTC’s Intel case (HT: Danny Sokol). Unfortunately his defense (and, unfortunately, the FTC’s case) is woefully misguided. Balto writes: Intel has been clearly dominant in the market for central processing units (CPUs) with between 80 percent and 98 percent of the market. The practices at issue ... David Balto (and the FTC) gets it woefully wrong on Intel
