The Archives

The collection of all scholarly commentary on law, economics, and more

Showing archive for:  “FTC”

The illiberal vision of neo-Brandeisian antitrust

Following is the (slightly expanded and edited) text of my remarks from the panel, Antitrust and the Tech Industry: What Is at Stake?, hosted last Thursday by CCIA. Bruce Hoffman (keynote), Bill Kovacic, Nicolas Petit, and Christine Caffarra also spoke. If we’re lucky Bruce will post his remarks on the FTC website; they were very ... The illiberal vision of neo-Brandeisian antitrust

Soylent Analytica: The Graph is too Damn Open

The world discovered something this past weekend that the world had already known: that what you say on the Internet stays on the Internet, spread intractably and untraceably through the tendrils of social media. I refer, of course, to the Cambridge Analytica/Facebook SNAFU (or just Situation Normal): the disclosure that Cambridge Analytica, a company used ... Soylent Analytica: The Graph is too Damn Open

The Ninth Circuit’s Welcome Recognition of FTC Authority to Address Welfare-Inimical Broadband Abuses

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) well-recognized expertise in assessing unfair or deceptive acts or practices can play a vital role in policing abusive broadband practices.  Unfortunately, however, because Section 5(a)(2) of the FTC Act exempts common carriers from the FTC’s jurisdiction, serious questions have been raised about the FTC’s authority to deal with unfair ... The Ninth Circuit’s Welcome Recognition of FTC Authority to Address Welfare-Inimical Broadband Abuses

Fourth Annual Heritage Foundation Antitrust Conference: A Quick Summary

On January 23rd, the Heritage Foundation convened its Fourth Annual Antitrust Conference, “Trump Antitrust Policy after One Year.”  The entire Conference can be viewed online (here).  The Conference featured a keynote speech, followed by three separate panels that addressed  developments at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), at the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division (DOJ), and in ... Fourth Annual Heritage Foundation Antitrust Conference: A Quick Summary

Hear from Past and Present Antitrust Agency Leaders at the Fourth Annual Heritage Antitrust Conference, January 23, 2018: Still Time to Register!

On January 23rd, for the fourth consecutive year, The Heritage Foundation will host a one-day antitrust conference that focuses on major thematic developments in domestic and international antitrust policy.  The conference pulls together leaders of the antitrust bar and top current and former Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Justice Department (DOJ) officials to provide an ... Hear from Past and Present Antitrust Agency Leaders at the Fourth Annual Heritage Antitrust Conference, January 23, 2018: Still Time to Register!

The Collateral Order Doctrine and State Action Immunity: Salt River Power District, Antitrust Federalism, and the Burden of State-Supported Monopoly

On December 1, 2017, in granting certiorari in Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District v. SolarCity Corp., the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to consider “whether orders denying antitrust state-action immunity to public entities are immediately appealable under the collateral-order doctrine.”  At first blush, this case might appear to involve little more than a ... The Collateral Order Doctrine and State Action Immunity: Salt River Power District, Antitrust Federalism, and the Burden of State-Supported Monopoly

The destiny of telecom regulation is antitrust

This week the FCC will vote on Chairman Ajit Pai’s Restoring Internet Freedom Order. Once implemented, the Order will rescind the 2015 Open Internet Order and return antitrust and consumer protection enforcement to primacy in Internet access regulation in the U.S. In anticipation of that, earlier this week the FCC and FTC entered into a ... The destiny of telecom regulation is antitrust

FCC-FTC Plans for Welfare-Enhancing Cooperation on Online Consumer Protection

As the Federal Communications (FCC) prepares to revoke its economically harmful “net neutrality” order and replace it with a free market-oriented “Restoring Internet Freedom Order,” the FCC and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) commendably have announced a joint policy for cooperation on online consumer protection.  According to a December 11 FTC press release: The Federal ... FCC-FTC Plans for Welfare-Enhancing Cooperation on Online Consumer Protection

An ambitious AG, a disgruntled competitor, and the contrived antitrust case against Google in Missouri

The populists are on the march, and as the 2018 campaign season gets rolling we’re witnessing more examples of political opportunism bolstered by economic illiteracy aimed at increasingly unpopular big tech firms. The latest example comes in the form of a new investigation of Google opened by Missouri’s Attorney General, Josh Hawley. Mr. Hawley — ... An ambitious AG, a disgruntled competitor, and the contrived antitrust case against Google in Missouri

Tim Muris on Fred McChesney

Timothy Muris is a George Mason University Foundation Professor of Law at the Scalia Law School at George Mason University and Senior Counsel at Sidley Austin LLP. From 2000-2004 he was Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission. I knew Fred for over 40 years, and came to have a deep love and affection for his ... Tim Muris on Fred McChesney

The FTC should address how (and whether) it assesses causation as it looks to define “informational injury”

The FTC will hold an “Informational Injury Workshop” in December “to examine consumer injury in the context of privacy and data security.” Defining the scope of cognizable harm that may result from the unauthorized use or third-party hacking of consumer information is, to be sure, a crucial inquiry, particularly as ever-more information is stored digitally. ... The FTC should address how (and whether) it assesses causation as it looks to define “informational injury”

Louis De Alessi: Remembering Fred S. McChesney

Louis De Alessi is Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Miami. Fred and I met when he enrolled in my graduate course in Microeconomic Theory at George Washington University. The class was small, I used a Socratic approach, and Fred — as you would expect – was an active participant, asking good questions ... Louis De Alessi: Remembering Fred S. McChesney