September 10, 2020

Data Portability and Interoperability

Geoffrey A. Manne & Samuel Bowman

While data portability may seem like an attractive option in certain markets, experience suggests it is not simple to impose even in cases where the trade-offs seem small.

Data Security & Privacy

December 10, 2019

Comments on the Federal Trade Commission’s Implementation of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule

Ben Sperry

In this comment, we address the first question presented by the Commission (“Is there a continuing need for the Rule as currently promulgated? Why or why not?”). This comment answers that question in the negative, arguing the FTC should return to the pre-2013 version of the COPPA Rule.

Data Security & Privacy

December 6, 2019

Comments on the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)

Kristian Stout & Alec Stapp

We begin our analysis of the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) with a discussion of the standardized regulatory impact assessment (SRIA) prepared for the AG’s Office by Berkeley Economic Advising and Research, LLC.

Data Security & Privacy

July 11, 2019

Section 230 Principles for Lawmakers and a Note of Caution as Trump Convenes his “Social Media Summit”

Geoffrey A. Manne

This morning a diverse group of more than 75 academics, scholars, and civil society organizations — including ICLE and several of its academic affiliates — published a set of seven “Principles for Lawmakers” on liability for user-generated content online, aimed at guiding discussions around potential amendments to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996.

Data Security & Privacy

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

February 21, 2019

ICLE Comments, Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s Digital Platforms Inquiry

Gus Hurwitz & Chris Berg

The analysis in the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s Preliminary Report for the Digital Platforms Inquiry is inadequate in several ways. There is a real danger that if the policy recommendations outlined in the preliminary report were to be adopted, Australian consumers would be severely harmed.

Antitrust & Consumer Protection

February 10, 2019

Doing double damage: The German competition authority’s Facebook decision manages to undermine both antitrust and data protection law

Geoffrey A. Manne

The German Bundeskartellamt (Federal Cartel Office or FCO) this week reached a decision in its nearly 3-year-old Facebook investigation.

Antitrust & Consumer Protection

January 1, 2019

When “Reasonable” Isn’t: The FTC’s Standard-less Data Security Standard

Kristian Stout & Geoffrey A. Manne

Although the FTC is well-staffed with highly skilled economists, its approach to data security is disappointingly light on economic analysis. The unfortunate result of this lacuna is an approach to these complex issues lacking in analytical rigor and the humility borne of analysis grounded in sound economics.

Antitrust & Consumer Protection

November 13, 2018

ICLE urges NTIA to avoid heavy-handed privacy regulation that would stifle innovation and limit consumer choice

Geoffrey A. Manne & Kristian Stout & Dirk Auer

ICLE submitted comments to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) on Developing the Administration’s Approach to Consumer Privacy.

Data Security & Privacy