By the Financial Times Editorial Board The Federal Trade Commission’s $5bn fine for Facebook — assuming it is approved by the Department of Justice — is both eye-catching and sets a new record. The 2 per cent rise in Facebook shares after it was reported shows how little impact the market believes it will have […]
By Ryan Tracy, Wall Street Journal Concerns about the power of the major technology companies echoed across the nation’s capital on Tuesday, with politicians in both parties demanding more regulatory scrutiny of the tech giants’ reach and plans for expansion. In three hearings, which were focused on Facebook Inc.’s cryptocurrency plans, alleged Google censorship, as […]
By Diana L. Moss (American Antitrust Institute) The term “Big Tech” is often used to describe the five largest multinational online service or computer hardware and software companies: Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, and Microsoft. These companies hold five of the top six slots, by market value, for publicly traded firms. The growth of Big Tech […]
By Harry First (New York University) & Spencer Weber Waller (Loyola University Chicago School of Law) Today’s conversation about antitrust civil remedies generally, and the private action specifically, focuses most often on optimal deterrence and effectiveness. Lost in conversation is the basic idea that antitrust violations cause economic harm and that those victimized by that […]
By Kristin Broughton and Dylan Tokar, Wall Street Journal Companies looking to catch a break from federal prosecutors for violating antitrust laws have long been forced to run a winner-takes-all race: Those that were first in line to report wrongdoing were let off the hook while co-conspirators faced criminal charges. That approach changed this week […]
By Lina M. Khan A handful of digital platforms mediate a growing share of online commerce and communications. By structuring access to markets, these firms function as gatekeepers for billions of dollars in economic activity. One feature dominant digital platforms share is that they have integrated across business lines such that they both operate a […]
By Justin (Gus) Hurwitz (University of Nebraska) The Supreme Court’s 2018 opinion in American Express v. Ohio is among the most important – and divisive – antitrust opinions in the modern era of antitrust law. The simplest statement of Justice Thomas’s opinion for the majority is that it saw a 5 Justice majority of the […]
By The Editorial Board, Wall Street Journal Google and Facebook are squeezing local news by gobbling up more and more advertising dollars. Yet the Justice Department is trying to stop local TV broadcasters from combining to become more competitive. Can the antitrust cops please stop protecting the Goliaths? Local TV news viewership has been declining […]
Posted by Social Science Research Network Understanding AI Collusion and Compliance By Justin P. Johnson (Cornell University) & D. Daniel Sokol (University of Florida) Antitrust compliance scholarship, particularly with a focus on collusion, has been an area of study for some time. Changes in technology and the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine-learning create […]
It’s time for lawmakers to step back in, carefully. By Margaret O’Mara, New York Times Tech regulation may be the only thing on which a polarized Capitol Hill can agree. “We should be suing Google and Facebook and all that, and perhaps we will,” President Trump recently declared. Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democratic presidential candidate, […]