May 31, 2019

The FTC’s Flawed Data Security Enforcement Program and Suggestions for Reform (FTC hearings, Comment 8)

Geoffrey A. Manne & Gus Hurwitz & Julian Morris & Kristian Stout & Dirk Auer

FTC Hearings on Competition & Consumer Protection in the 21 st Century. Comments of the International Center for Law & Economics: The FTC’s Flawed Data Security Enforcement Program and Suggestions for Reform. Hearing #9 (Dec. 11-12, 2018). Submitted May 31, 2019.

Antitrust & Consumer Protection

May 15, 2019

A Bargaining Model v. Reality in FTC v. Qualcomm: A Reply to Kattan & Muris

Joshua Wright & Douglas Ginsburg

In a recent article[1] Joe Kattan and Tim Muris (K&M) criticize our article[2] on the predictive power of bargaining models in antitrust, in which we used two recent applications to explore implications for uses of bargaining models in courts and antitrust agencies moving forward.

Antitrust & Consumer Protection

May 13, 2019

An Evidentiary Cornerstone of the FTC’s Antitrust Case Against Qualcomm May Have Rested on Manipulated Data

Geoffrey A. Manne

The courtroom trial in the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC’s) antitrust case against Qualcomm ended in January with a promise from the judge in the case, Judge Lucy Koh, to issue a ruling as quickly as possible — caveated by her acknowledgement that the case is complicated and the evidence voluminous.

Antitrust & Consumer Protection

May 13, 2019

In Apple v Pepper, SCOTUS leaves home without its Amex

Geoffrey A. Manne & Kristian Stout

It might surprise some readers to learn that we think the Court’s decision today in Apple v. Pepper reaches — superficially — the correct result. But, we hasten to add, the Court’s reasoning (and, for that matter, the dissent’s) is completely wrongheaded.

Antitrust & Consumer Protection

May 7, 2019

Is Amazon Guilty of Predatory Pricing?

Kristian Stout & Alec Stapp

Predatory pricing is a rather rare anticompetitive practice because the “predator” runs the risk of bankrupting itself in the process of trying to drive rivals out of business with below-cost pricing.

Antitrust & Consumer Protection

April 25, 2019

Deadweight loss from no monopoly

Eric Fruits

The once-mighty Blockbuster video chain is now down to a single store, in Bend, Oregon. It appears to be the only video rental store in Bend, aside from those offering “adult” features. Does that make Blockbuster a monopoly?

Antitrust & Consumer Protection

April 12, 2019

BRIEF OF RICHARD A. EPSTEIN & GEOFFREY A. MANNE, IN SUPPORT OF Defendant in Pulse Network, LLC v. Visa Incorporated

Geoffrey A. Manne & Richard Epstein

To establish antitrust standing, Pulse must show not only “injury causally linked to an illegal presence in the market” but also antitrust injury “attributable to an anti-competitive aspect of the practice under scrutiny.”

Antitrust & Consumer Protection

April 3, 2019

Is European Competition Law Protectionist? Unpacking the Commission’s Unflattering Track Record

Dirk Auer

In a new ICLE Issue Brief, we question whether there is any merit to these claims of protectionism. We show that, since the entry into force of Regulation 1/2003, US firms have borne the lion’s share of monetary penalties imposed by the Commission for breaches of competition law.

Antitrust & Consumer Protection

April 1, 2019

This Too Shall Pass: Unassailable Monopolies That Were, in Hindsight, Eminently Assailable

Geoffrey A. Manne & Alec Stapp

Elizabeth Warren wants to break up the tech giants — Facebook, Google, Amazon, and Apple — claiming they have too much power and represent a danger to our democracy. As part of our response to her proposal, we shared a couple of headlines from 2007 claiming that MySpace had an unassailable monopoly in the social media market.

Antitrust & Consumer Protection