September 3, 2019

The District Court’s FTC v. Qualcomm Decision Rests on Impermissible Inferences and Should Be Reversed

Geoffrey A. Manne & Ben Sperry

Contrary to established Supreme Court precedent, the district court’s decision relies on mere inferences to establish anticompetitive effect. The decision, if it stands, would render a wide range of potentially procompetitive conduct presumptively illegal and thus harm consumer welfare.

Antitrust & Consumer Protection

August 27, 2019

Dynamic Competition and Online Platforms: Evaluating Recent Government Reports

icle

Join us for our third annual international competition policy conference on December 4th, 2019.

August 7, 2019

Governing the Patent Commons

Dirk Auer & Julian Morris

We suggest that antitrust authorities and courts should draw inspiration from acclaimed scholarship regarding both the evolution of cooperation and the management of common-pool resources.

Intellectual Property

July 26, 2019

Who’s the Real Destroyer of Retail

Julian Morris & Kristian Stout

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin recently claimed that Amazon has “destroyed the retail industry across the United States” and should be investigated for antitrust violations. The claim doesn’t pass the laugh test. What’s more, the allegation might more rightly be leveled at Mnuchin himself.

Antitrust & Consumer Protection

July 26, 2019

T-Mobile Sprints to the Finish Line: States Demand a Do-Over

Eric Fruits

T-Mobile/Sprint merger cleared with conditions, but some states keep pressing an unconvincing theory to block the merger. Why not view it as making a viable third national competitor which will benefit consumers across the country?

Antitrust & Consumer Protection

July 24, 2019

The Unconstitutionality of the FCC’s Leased Access Rules

Ben Sperry

Monday July 22, ICLE filed a regulatory comment arguing the leased access requirements enforced by the FCC are unconstitutional compelled speech that violate the First Amendment. 

Antitrust & Consumer Protection

July 24, 2019

Merger Lore: Dispelling the Myth of the Maverick

Eric Fruits

The idea of the maverick firm requires that the firm play a critical role in the market. The maverick must be the firm that outflanks coordinated action or acts as a bulwark against unilateral action. By this loosey goosey definition of maverick, a single firm can make the difference between success or failure of anticompetitive behavior by its competitors.

Antitrust & Consumer Protection

July 15, 2019

The Third Circuit’s Oberdorf v. Amazon Opinion Offers a Good Approach to Reining in the Worst Abuses of Section 230

Gus Hurwitz

In a remarkable ruling issued earlier this month, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals held in Oberdorf v. Amazon that, under Pennsylvania products liability law, Amazon could be found liable for a third party vendor’s sale of a defective product via Amazon Marketplace.

Data Security & Privacy

July 15, 2019

There’s Nothing “Conservative” About Trump’s Views on Free Speech and the Regulation of Social Media

Ben Sperry

Despite the simplistic narrative tying President Trump’s vision of the world to conservatism, there is nothing conservative about his views on the First Amendment and how it applies to social media companies.

Data Security & Privacy