April 29, 2020

The Ghosts of Antitrust Past

Alec Stapp
PPI Director of Technology Policy, Alec Stapp reviews the antitrust cases against IBM, AT&T, and Microsoft and discusses what we can learn from them today. He explains the relevant concepts necessary for understanding the history of market competition in the tech industry.
Antitrust & Consumer Protection
January 18, 2020

Towards a Theory of Market Power

Mark Jamison
This paper analyzes the question of market power. Longstanding definitions and analytical tools are inadequate because they conflate conditions under which a firm has unbeneficial control over its markets (market power) with situations where firms are successful because they are superior in how they serve customers (expanding consumer welfare).
Antitrust & Consumer Protection
July 1, 2019

10 Reasons Why the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) Is Going to Be a Dumpster Fire

Alec Stapp
Last year, real estate developer Alastair Mactaggart spent nearly $3.5 million to put a privacy law on the ballot in California’s November election. He then negotiated a deal with state lawmakers to withdraw the ballot initiative if they passed their own privacy bill. That law — the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) — was enacted after only seven days of drafting and amending.
Data Security & Privacy
May 31, 2019

Toward a Proper Understanding of Consumer Privacy and Its Regulation (FTC Hearings, ICLE Comment 10)

Geoffrey A. Manne & Kristian Stout & Dirk Auer & Alec Stapp
FTC Hearings on Competition & Consumer Protection in the 21st Century. Comments of the International Center for Law & Economics: Toward a Proper Understanding of Consumer Privacy and Its Regulation: Market Realities and the Consumer Welfare Costs of Abandoning Regulatory Restraint. Hearing #12 (Apr. 9-10). Submitted May 31, 2019.
Antitrust & Consumer Protection
May 31, 2019

Properly Balancing Consumer Protection and Innovation in Broadband Markets (FTC Hearings, ICLE Comment 9)

Geoffrey A. Manne & Kristian Stout
FTC Hearings on Competition & Consumer Protection in the 21st Century. Comments of the International Center for Law & Economics: Properly Balancing Consumer Protection and Innovation in Broadband Markets: The Competition Law and Economics of Vertical Restraints in Broadband. Hearing #10 (Mar. 20, 2019). Submitted May 31, 2019.
Antitrust & Consumer Protection