May Threads 2024
Threads from ICLE scholars on trending issues for the month of May 2024.
? May Day Paper?
The FTC has gone all in on labor markets in the past 5 months:
1. Merger guidelines
2. Kroger/Albertsons
3. Noncompetes
How straightforward will it be to apply antitrust to labor?@AuerDirk, @geoffmanne, and my paper lay out some challenges ahead ?
— Brian Albrecht (@BrianCAlbrecht) May 1, 2024
? May Day Paper?
The FTC has gone all in on labor markets in the past 5 months:
1. Merger guidelines
2. Kroger/Albertsons
3. Noncompetes
How straightforward will it be to apply antitrust to labor?@AuerDirk, @geoffmanne, and my paper lay out some challenges ahead ?
— Brian Albrecht (@BrianCAlbrecht) May 1, 2024
Policymakers are starting to worry that digital market regulations may harm their competitiveness in cutting-edge industries like AI.
This is leading to some seemingly schizophrenic situations.
The latest example is the CMA's recent Amazon/Anthropic merger investigation.
— Dirk Auer (@AuerDirk) May 2, 2024
1/9 In the drive to close America's digital divide, the role of technology-neutral policies cannot be overstated. Satellite broadband, exemplified by Starlink and soon Amazon's Kuiper, is pivotal for reaching the most remote areas. https://t.co/AfwasxFaZA pic.twitter.com/GpYU0c3Mpd
— kristian stout (@kristianstout) May 2, 2024
There doesn't seem to be a way to access the Google Maps pin for Daunt Books through Google Search anymore, even when I add "Google Maps" to the query. I can't click on the map thumbnail, and the only link to Google Maps I get is to someone's list of best London bookshops. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/PbnXR4xDle
— Lazar Radic (@laz_radic) May 3, 2024
Next 13 June @OECD Competition Policy Best Practice Roundtables on the "Intersection between #Competition and Data #Privacy." Thanks to Carolina Abate for the kind invitationhttps://t.co/T1CFKE3NuB
— Giuseppe Colangelo (@GiuColangelo) May 3, 2024
The new "net neutrality" rules cover much more than throttling data. The FCC claimed sweeping powers across many domains.
My latest with @J2dubyas in @BostonGlobe discusses one that hasn't made headlines but could now be banned:
Usage-based pricinghttps://t.co/heQ63GE1Z2
— Brian Albrecht (@BrianCAlbrecht) May 6, 2024
Antitrust distinguishes per se violations and practices judged under the Rule of Reason.
per se violations aren't anticompetitive on average but so overwhelmingly bad that we don't bother looking at each case.
Noncompetes do not meet this threshold.https://t.co/iACnvK6CO2
— Brian Albrecht (@BrianCAlbrecht) May 13, 2024
I will say, the simplicity of the proposed legislation to sunset Section 230 is remarkable, even if its effects may be complex (and costly). But there is a better way forward for those concerned about the costs of Section 230 immunity (a short ?):https://t.co/zE1ElYzPyS
— Ben Sperry (@RBenSperry) May 13, 2024
Did market power drive the 2021-2022 US inflation?
It's a complicated issue but another short note–this time from Leduc, Li & Liu at the SF Fed–suggests probably not. https://t.co/49rRlGQBOT
Let me explain what they do. pic.twitter.com/FbTVwWGfV9
— Brian Albrecht (@BrianCAlbrecht) May 20, 2024
While we wait for the details of the allegations, a few things worth keeping in mind in the discussion around this case:
1. Being a monopoly is not illegal.
2. Having annoyed customers is not illegal.
3. Pissing off Taylor Swift is not illegal. https://t.co/4fYIRm83qu— Brian Albrecht (@BrianCAlbrecht) May 23, 2024