February 18, 2021

tl;dr - The Competition and Antitrust Law Enforcement Reform Act

Samuel Bowman & Geoffrey A. Manne & Dirk Auer

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) has introduced the Competition and Antitrust Law Enforcement Reform Act (CALERA), sweeping legislation that, if enacted, would change the antitrust rules not just for Big Tech, but for the whole economy.

Antitrust & Consumer Protection

February 9, 2021

tl;dr - Consumer Welfare Standard

Samuel Bowman

Returning to a pre-Consumer Welfare Standard state of the law would lead antitrust enforcement to become confused, contradictory, and ineffective at promoting competition. The CWS makes antitrust economically coherent and democratically accountable.

Antitrust & Consumer Protection

December 16, 2020

Introductory Post: The United States v. Google

Samuel Bowman

Google is facing a series of lawsuits in 2020 and 2021 that challenge some of the most fundamental parts of its business, and of the internet itself — Search, Android, Chrome, Google’s digital-advertising business, and potentially other services as well.

Antitrust & Consumer Protection

October 22, 2020

tl;dr - The DOJ's Antitrust Case Against Google

Samuel Bowman & Geoffrey A. Manne

The Department of Justice and a few Republican state attorneys general have filed an antitrust suit against Google. But… The DOJ case will struggle.

Antitrust & Consumer Protection

September 14, 2020

The Antitrust Case Against Google’s Adtech Business, Explained

Geoffrey A. Manne & Samuel Bowman & Eric Fruits

We explain how display advertising fits in the broader digital advertising market, describe how display advertising works, consider the main allegations against Google, and explain why Google’s critics are misguided to focus on antitrust as a solution to alleged problems in the market.

Antitrust & Consumer Protection

April 17, 2020

Correcting Common Misperceptions About the State of Antitrust Law and Enforcement

Geoffrey A. Manne

On Friday, April 17, 2020, ICLE President and Founder, Geoffrey A. Manne, submitted written testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law.

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

September 22, 2017

antitrust laws are not some meta-legislation authorizing whatever activists want

Geoffrey A. Manne

In a recent post at the (appallingly misnamed) ProMarket blog (the blog of the Stigler Center at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business — George Stigler is rolling…

Antitrust & Consumer Protection

December 8, 2016

The Weakness of the Economic Evidence against Health Insurance Mergers

Geoffrey A. Manne & Ben Sperry

This white paper counsels extreme caution in the use of past statistical studies of the purported effects of health insurance company mergers to infer that today’s proposed mergers — between Aetna/Humana and Anthem/Cigna — will likely have similar effects.

Antitrust & Consumer Protection