Antitrust
With 3-2 FTC Majority, Chair Khan has Ability to Enact her Progressive Anti-Consumer Agenda
By Rich Sill With the Senate voting 51-50 to confirm Alvaro Bedoya as the fifth FTC Commissioner– and third Democrat– Chair Lina Khan now has free reign to implement her progressive agenda. This could include, but is not limited to, going after and/or attempting to break up large companies like Amazon because she…
United States Continues to Outpace Europe on Broadband
By Rich Sill As the United States continues to innovate and expand its broadband infrastructure from sea to shining sea, it should not be looking to Europe for guidance. For years, the European Union has been behind the United States in broadband deployment, adoption, investment, and competition due to valuing…
New OpEd in Morning Consult: Antitrust Threats to Fintech
Digital liberty’s Executive Director, Katie McAuliffe, published a new OpEd in the Morning Consult discussing how the Zeal for Antitrust is threatening Finntech. The Department of Justice has recently file lawsuit against Visa from acquiring the company Plaid – which is a company that allows users to share their…
Preconceived Conclusions Coming out of House Antitrust Hearings
by Isabelle Morales On Thursday, October 1, the House Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law held a hearing entitled, “Proposals to Strengthen the Antitrust Laws and Restore Competition Online.” Chairman David N. Cicilline began the hearing by describing big tech companies as the kind of monopolies we last saw…
Coalition Supports Competition & Consumer Welfare Over Politization & Weaponization of American Antitrust Law
Today, Digital Liberty joined a coalition letter to the Senate Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights for the record as part of its hearing entitled “Stacking the Tech: Has Google harmed competition in online advertising?” The letter clearly lays out the importance of the consumer welfare standard in…
Where Politicians Fail, Innovation Delivers
By: Laurel Duggan American innovation has carried us through the pandemic. Tech companies have created solutions to public health emergencies while providing vital support to American businesses. Yet America’s most successful tech companies are the target of attacks from both sides of the aisle and are viewed with hostility by…
Antitrust Expansion is for the Birds
By: Laurel Duggan Four poultry executives were indicted in June on charges of price-fixing. Attentive ranchers blew the whistle about flat prices for livestock despite record profits for meat processors, resulting in Senate investigations. Several other companies are likely to be investigated over these allegations. Entrenched competitors are now clamoring to…
Don’t Punish Success: American Antitrust Law & Tech
By: Katie McAuliffe and Laurel Duggan The global dominance of American tech companies should make our nation beam with pride. Our tech firms are international luminaries of our national values: free speech, open inquiry, and innovation. The tech sector also sustains 18.2 million American jobs and has helped…
A Modern Antitrust Paradox
By: Laurel Duggan Maureen Olhausen, Joshua D. Wright, and Geoffrey Manne discussed antitrust law and the problems with reform efforts recently at a panel hosted by the Committee for Justice. The panelists made the case that the American economy is still very competitive, large mergers will not end competition, and…
T-Mobile/Sprint Merger Approaches Finish Line
Yesterday’s ruling by Judge Victor Marrero in the Southern District of New York means that, after years of bureaucratic hurdles and meddling by activist attorney generals, one of the great “antitrust” sagas of the past decade is finally close to a conclusion.