Since the European Commission’s decision to fine Android, policymakers, experts, and columnists from both sides of the aisle, along with the entire ecosystem of the mobile economy, have sounded the alarm over the EC’s decision. They have warned: —Consumers will be harmed by the EC’s decision; —The EC’s decision ignored the fact that Android competes […]
Now a few weeks removed from the European Commission’s (EC) “bizarre” Android decision, experts have continued to weigh in. As James Stewart wrote in the New York Times, “It’s hard to find any antitrust expert, European or American, who has endorsed the logic or outcome of the ruling by the European Commission.” The EC’s conclusion […]
Tech critics have called for increased data portability to boost competition. Before the weekend, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter, and others announced a new standards initiative called the Data Transfer Project to do exactly that, noting, “Portability and interoperability are central to cloud innovation and competition.” The initiative will allow consumers to transfer data directly between […]
In response to Wednesday’s wrong-headed Android fine, more voices picked apart the flaws in EU Commissioner Margrethe Vestager’s arguments. Vestager’s decision was “protectionism masquerading as consumerism,” per AEI’s Jim Pethokoukis. Democratic Senator Ron Wyden argued, “the EC’s attack on Google is another strike against its credibility as a regulator.” The Bloomberg editorial board summarized it […]
In reaction to the European Commission’s Android decision, a chorus of people sounded the alarm, highlighting the choice, competition, and innovation Android has brought to the market and the negative impacts this decision will have on phone makers, developers, and consumers. It’s also important to remember the FTC conducted a multi-year investigation into these allegations, […]
The EC is expected to fine Google’s Android, a free and open software. As NYT’s Farhad Manjoo wrote in 2016, “If Google’s grand plan really is to keep rivals off Android phones, it sure is doing a poor job of it.” The EC’s analysis curiously concludes Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS are not competitors. What’s […]
A new report from Oliver Wyman, commissioned by Facebook, finds that, despite the hype, venture investment in the tech sector is vibrant and leading tech services’ success does not, in fact, lead to the mythical “kill-zone” in startup investment. Finding that total VC deal value has reached all-time highs and that acquisitions by large firms […]
With the hustle and bustle of the midweek Fourth of July, here are a few good reads on tech, competition, and antitrust policy that you might’ve missed during the past couple of weeks. Herbert Hovenkamp, “Is Antitrust’s Consumer Welfare Principle Imperiled?“ Key Takeaway: “The neo-Brandeis approach would trade off low prices and high output in […]
In a recent paper, former FTC chair Timothy J. Muris and former FTC general counsel Jonathan Nuechterlein analyzed tech critics’ arguments against leading tech services within the context of backlash against the leading grocery chain A&P eighty years ago. After vertically integrating, the grocery store chain was once called the “Wal-Mart before Wal-Mart.” Muris and […]
In response to a recent Boston Globe editorial, Computer & Communications Industry Association president and CEO Ed Black pushed back against tech critics who call for break-up without pointing to concrete consumer harms. “Simply put,” writes Black, “companies like Google succeed because they provide high-quality products and services that consumers value. Regulators shouldn’t punish this, […]
Hostility to innovation and technology diminishes the incredible Internet-enabled opportunities that leading tech services provide: empowering consumers, driving prices down and increasing choice, and providing platforms to help entrepreneurs grow their businesses. It has given us a golden era of entertainment, knowledge, and everything from fashion startups, to booming mom and pop stores, to the latest app.
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