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 […]
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 […]
Earlier today at the Constitution Center, the Federal Trade Commission held the second hearing in its Competition and Consumer Protection in the 21st Century series. Competition policy experts from across both the country and the political spectrum convened in Washington, D.C. to discuss the current state of antitrust law. Highlights below. It’s important to remember […]
Tim Wu wants to break up Facebook and other leading tech services, because “we’re in a time where we need to bring back the controls on bigness,” according to a recent Vergecast, summarized here. Wu’s case overlooks several critical issues. 1. Wu downplays existing competition among tech players (despite having hailed it as a solution […]
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 […]
This evening, 60 Minutes will air a segment focusing on Google’s critics, who say the company has “stifled competition,” and Europe’s Margrethe Vestager, an “antitrust enforcer who is taking action.” We’ve seen others recycle old arguments pushed by competitors of leading tech services in the past. So before you watch, below are five things you […]
Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division Roger Alford spoke in Dusseldorf Tuesday on the public interest standard’s problematic effect on competition enforcement. Like Makan Delrahim, Assistant Attorney General of the Antitrust Division, recently noted, Alford focused on the careful approach of the consumer welfare standard versus the broad, easily-biased public […]
Daniel Crane, a University of Michigan law professor who focuses and has written six books and more than 60 articles on antitrust policy, recently posed four key questions to those who don’t believe current antitrust law is capable of addressing any competition concerns in the 21st century economy, the so-called Neo-Brandeisians. Highlights below: 1. Is […]
As Mark Jamison noted recently for AEI, “China is seeking to create national champions in tech. Europe is hoping that its regulations will ensure that the next generation of tech leaders is European.” Ahead of the White House AI meeting, below is recent commentary on the U.S. tech strategy in the context of Europe and […]
Speaking in a personal capacity at CCIA’s luncheon panel discussion held during the ABA Antitrust Spring Meetings, Bruce Hoffman, Acting Director of the Bureau of Competition at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), argued current U.S. antitrust law is “the result of decades of experience in the United States with failed standards, such as protecting […]
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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