Showing archive for: “US Constitution”
Political Philosophy, Competition, and Competition Law: The Road to and from Neoliberalism, Part 2
In just over a century since its dawn, liberalism had reshaped much of the world along the lines of individualism, free markets, private property, contract, trade, and competition. A modest laissez-faire political philosophy that had begun to germinate in the minds of French Physiocrats in the early 18th century had, scarcely 150 years later, inspired ... Political Philosophy, Competition, and Competition Law: The Road to and from Neoliberalism, Part 2
What is the Appropriate Role for State Antitrust Enforcement?
In the U.S. system of dual federal and state sovereigns, a normative analysis reveals principles that could guide state antitrust-enforcement priorities, to promote complementarity in federal and state antitrust policy, and thereby advance consumer welfare. Discussion Positive analysis reveals that state antitrust enforcement is a firmly entrenched feature of American antitrust policy. The U.S. Supreme ... What is the Appropriate Role for State Antitrust Enforcement?
Broad-Based FTC Data-Privacy and Security Rulemaking Would Flunk a Cost-Benefit Test
A debate has broken out among the four sitting members of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in connection with the recently submitted FTC Report to Congress on Privacy and Security. Chair Lina Khan argues that the commission “must explore using its rulemaking tools to codify baseline protections,” while Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter has urged the ... Broad-Based FTC Data-Privacy and Security Rulemaking Would Flunk a Cost-Benefit Test
A Coasean Analysis of Offensive Speech
Words can wound. They can humiliate, anger, insult. University students—or, at least, a vociferous minority of them—are keen to prevent this injury by suppressing offensive speech. To ensure campuses are safe places, they militate for the cancellation of talks by speakers with opinions they find offensive, often successfully. And they campaign to get offensive professors ... A Coasean Analysis of Offensive Speech
How US and EU Competition Law Differ
U.S. and European competition laws diverge in numerous ways that have important real-world effects. Understanding these differences is vital, particularly as lawmakers in the United States, and the rest of the world, consider adopting a more “European” approach to competition. In broad terms, the European approach is more centralized and political. The European Commission’s Directorate ... How US and EU Competition Law Differ
Alston Decision Shows Consumer Welfare Standard Isn’t Broken
From Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) to Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), populist calls to “fix” our antitrust laws and the underlying Consumer Welfare Standard have found a foothold on Capitol Hill. At the same time, there are calls to “fix” the Supreme Court by packing it with new justices. The court’s unanimous decision in NCAA v. ... Alston Decision Shows Consumer Welfare Standard Isn’t Broken
The Supreme Court Misses the Big Consumer Welfare Picture in NCAA v. Alston
In its June 21 opinion in NCAA v. Alston, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and thereby upheld a district court injunction finding unlawful certain National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) rules limiting the education-related benefits schools may make available to student athletes. The decision will come as no ... The Supreme Court Misses the Big Consumer Welfare Picture in NCAA v. Alston
NY ‘Abuse of Dominance’ Bill Attacks Consumer Welfare and the US Antitrust Tradition
U.S. antitrust law is designed to protect competition, not individual competitors. That simple observation lies at the heart of the Consumer Welfare Standard that for years has been the cornerstone of American antitrust policy. An alternative enforcement policy focused on protecting individual firms would discourage highly efficient and innovative conduct by a successful entity, because ... NY ‘Abuse of Dominance’ Bill Attacks Consumer Welfare and the US Antitrust Tradition
An L&E Defense of the First Amendment’s Protection of Private Ordering
In his recent concurrence in Biden v. Knight, Justice Clarence Thomas sketched a roadmap for how to regulate social-media platforms. The animating factor for Thomas, much like for other conservatives, appears to be a sense that Big Tech has exhibited anti-conservative bias in its moderation decisions, most prominently by excluding former President Donald Trump from ... An L&E Defense of the First Amendment’s Protection of Private Ordering
The Future of FTC Equitable Monetary Relief after AMG Capital Management
The U.S. Supreme Court’s just-published unanimous decision in AMG Capital Management LLC v. FTC—holding that Section 13(b) of the Federal Trade Commission Act does not authorize the commission to obtain court-ordered equitable monetary relief (such as restitution or disgorgement)—is not surprising. Moreover, by dissipating the cloud of litigation uncertainty that has surrounded the FTC’s recent ... The Future of FTC Equitable Monetary Relief after AMG Capital Management
Four Reasons to Reject Neo-Brandeisian Critiques of the Consumer Welfare Approach to Antitrust
In the battle of ideas, it is quite useful to be able to brandish clear and concise debating points in support of a proposition, backed by solid analysis. Toward that end, in a recent primer about antitrust law published by the Mercatus Center, I advance four reasons to reject neo-Brandeisian critiques of the consensus (at ... Four Reasons to Reject Neo-Brandeisian Critiques of the Consumer Welfare Approach to Antitrust
Committee Prepares to Grill Tech CEOS, but It Is the First Amendment That Could Get Torched
In what has become regularly scheduled programming on Capitol Hill, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, and Google CEO Sundar Pichai will be subject to yet another round of congressional grilling—this time, about the platforms’ content-moderation policies—during a March 25 joint hearing of two subcommittees of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The ... Committee Prepares to Grill Tech CEOS, but It Is the First Amendment That Could Get Torched
