Geoff Manne on EU Competition Law

MarketWatch – ICLE President Geoffrey A. Manne was quoted by MarketWatch in a story comparing recent competition-law developments in the United States and the EU. You can read full piece here.

“There is a big difference between the sorts of targeted changes being implemented [in Europe] and the wholesale, no-self-preferencing regimes being contemplated in the U.S.,” Geoffrey A. Manne, president and founder of the International Center for Law & Economics, told MarketWatch.

…The passage of the DMA has led to a rapid series of actions, the latest being Amazon’s negotiation with the EU of some specific changes to its platform, which is also in response to an investigation begun a few years ago by the European Commission’s department for competition, according to Manne. As part of that deal, Amazon will not pay a fine but will commit to giving third-party sellers on its digital platform an equal shot at being selected as the default option for buttons in Amazon’s so-called Buy Box and to allowing them to qualify for its Prime shipping program.

…“I don’t doubt those changes [in Europe by Big Tech] will be used by some to try to push for laws in the U.S.,” Manne told MarketWatch. “But, as I said, the regimes are quite different and even if certain changes are adopted in the EU, I don’t think they should be seen as evidence that the kinds of changes contemplated by the U.S. proposed legislation would be similarly acceptable.”