Pragmatic, incremental approach is the best way to reform antitrust law

By Sam Bowman, The Hill

The House Subcommittee on Antitrust, led by Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.), is expected to release its report on competition in digital markets in the coming weeks. Though focused on digital markets, its proposals may have far-reaching effects for the whole economy.

While we cannot judge the report until it is out, there are signs that it may recommend dramatic changes to antitrust law that would nullify decades of judicial precedent, abandon antitrust’s focus on consumer wellbeing in favor of other goals, and move towards a guilty-until-proven-innocent standard in some antitrust cases that would require businesses to prove that their challenged conduct is legal. Cicilline’s recent endorsement of a near-blanket ban on mergers during the coronavirus shutdown suggests that he may be tempted by some of these proposals.

Advocates argue that competition is weakening in America, pointing to rising market concentration – big businesses’ share of national markets – and recent studies that have shown a rise in markups, a measure of business profitability.

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