This week, the FTC held its sixth in a series of hearings about competition policy in the 21st century. Below are a few highlights from some leading experts in the field. Data is a widely available resource, not a commodity Daniel Sokol, University of Florida Levin College of Law: “Big data: There’s no one company […]
As FTC hearings on competitiveness and consumer welfare continue this week, wanted to flag the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) new paper by senior fellow Joe Kennedy, titled, “Why The Consumer Welfare Standard Should Remain The Bedrock Of Antitrust Policy.” Kennedy’s core arguments are below. Contrary to critics, the consumer welfare standard goes well […]
On Wednesday, Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim spoke at the University of Haifa in Israel, saying “big platforms were once themselves start-ups,” and that regulators should “be cautious in any enforcement decision to not undermine the very innovation incentives that competition aims to protect.” Delrahim focused parts of his speech on data, raising numerous points […]
Below are highlights from the Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights hearing with Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust Makan Delrahim and Federal Trade Commission Chairman Joe Simons. Videos are hyperlinked with the quote. Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), Chairman of Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights: “These critics are […]
At Jackson Hole, economists discussed the rise of economy-wide corporate concentration and its impact on the macroeconomy, including investment, wage, and monetary policy. Tech critics have worked to connect this trend to tech, but – as we’ve noted before – tech bucks the trends seen in other sectors of the economy. In fact, regarding investment, […]
Last week former Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti wrote an op-ed in The Washington Post arguing that Europe’s antitrust regime is “stronger” than America’s. But, as Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim recently said, “I don’t measure the antitrust division’s success by the fines or convictions we get or how many cases in litigation we bring. […]
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 […]
Yesterday, Luigi Zingales defended the EC’s fine of Google’s Android arguing the absence of similar enforcement have raised cell phone costs for consumers. Below are three issues with Zingales’ defense, but more broadly Zingales fails to mention 1) Android is free and operators were always able to pre-install competing apps and 2) the U.S. tech […]
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 latest issue of The Economist features an article that blames America’s leading tech services for allegedly quashing tech start-ups. The piece misses the mark in five key ways: 1. Investment in the sector is at a 20-year high, driving 57 startups to unicorn status last year — but only one in Europe. A World […]
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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