News
Archive

ICLE Chief Economist Brian Albrecht was quoted by Axios in a story about the Federal Trade Commission’s opposition to Tapestry’s acquisition of Capri Holdings. You can read the full piece here.

Zoom in: The FTC may have been encouraged by its success in blocking the merger of JetBlue and Spirit, say Oliver and Brian Albrecht, chief economist at the International Center for Law & Economics.

…The intrigue: It’s rare that the U.S. is not in lock step with its antitrust counterparts in the European Union and Japan, which both cleared the deal, say Oliver and Albrecht.

ICLE Senior Scholar Ben Sperry was quoted by the New York Sun in a story about President Joe Biden signing legislation that would force ByteDance to sell its stake in TikTok. You can read the full piece here.

“Do we really want to set the precedent that it’s a good thing to shut down communications platforms?” the analyst, Ben Sperry, a senior scholar at the International Center for Law & Economics, tells the Sun. He filed an amicus brief in a suit against the president. “Yes, we should make sure Americans are protected, but I think we all hope for more obvious evidence of harm to America’s national security.”

…That broad scope mitigates the risk of it becoming a bill of attainder, an expressly forbidden act that abridges due process, Mr. Sperry says. Yet, he asks, “what does it mean to be under the influence and control of a hostile foreign nation?” The legislation, as it’s written, fails to answer that question.

…Though some argue that foreign entities do not have constitutional rights, Mr. Sperry says, “corporations that have some degree of foreign ownership are allowed to participate in the marketplace of ideas as a general matter.”

…The government could also see lawsuits from Americans themselves. Businesses and services that use TikTok to promote their products, as well as consumers of that content, might invoke their First Amendment rights to access or promote their products, Mr. Sperry says.

…Mr. Sperry invokes another analogy. He calls the unfolding battle “a cat and mouse game between technology and the law, and the law might win — or at least win enough that most people won’t use the technology anymore.” Be it a “cat,” or a “dictator,” Communist China could retaliate through measures to stop Americans from conducting business on their turf.

ICLE Director of Law & Economics Programs Gus Hurwitz was cited by Cox Media Group in a story about President Joe Biden signing legislation that seeks to force the divestment of TikTok. You can read the full piece here.

A court battle over the app could string along for some time, with the potential for appeals that could go all the way to the Supreme Court, which would likely uphold the law due to its current composition, Gus Hurwitz, a senior fellow at the University of Pennsylvania’s Carey Law School, told the AP.

ICLE Chief Economist Brian Albrecht was cited by The Dispatch in an item on the Federal Trade Commission’s vote to ban nearly all noncompete agreements in employment contracts. You can read the full piece here.

The Federal Trade Commission approved a rule that effectively bans all non-compete clauses. These contract provisions stop workers from working for competitors or starting a competing business after they leave a job. In response, economist Brian Albrecht explored the limits to the research the FTC cited.

ICLE Director of Law & Economics Programs Gus Hurwitz was cited by the Huffington Post in a story about President Joe Biden signing legislation that seeks to force the divestment of TikTok. You can read the full piece here.

ICLE Senior Scholar Eric Fruits was quoted by Law360 in a story about the Federal Communications Commission’s vote to reimpose Title II regulation on broadband internet-access service providers. You can read the full piece here.

“I’m skeptical that Congress would actually act to do any sort of CRA reversal,” said Eric Fruits, a senior scholar at the International Center for Law and Economics, and a critic of the order. “And so that means you’re going to have the lawsuits. And the other big story of the year would be if no one filed a lawsuit. I bet you there’s someone, somewhere, who already has a lawsuit written.”

ICLE Chief Economist Brian Albrecht was cited by The Dispatch in a story on the Federal Trade Commission’s vote to ban nearly all noncompete agreements in employment contracts. You can read the full piece here.

But these are just projections, and some economists argue more research needs to be done on the economic effects of restricting the use of non-competes before a nationwide ban is instituted. “While there’s increasing evidence that banning non-competes—at least the way that it’s been done—increases wages, it’s not conclusive,” Brian Albrecht—the chief economist at the International Center on Law and Economics—told TMD. “There are not that many papers on this. We do not have that many clear examples.” He cited Oregon’s statewide ban on non-competes for hourly workers as a clear example of wages rising after a ban went into effect, but argued that there’s comparatively little research on the effects of a ban applying to every level of income.

PORTLAND, Ore. (April 23, 2024) – The International Center for Law & Economics (ICLE) offers the following statement on today’s vote by the Federal Communications Commission (FTC) to adopt a rule classifying internet service providers (ISPs) under Title II of the Communications Act.

The following quote can be attributed to ICLE Senior Scholar Eric Fruits:

Title II is much more than net neutrality. It is the same type of expansive and heavy-handed regulation that governs public utilities. The FCC’s rule is a sharp reversal from decades of light-touch regulation that has fostered America’s leadership in broadband innovation and investment. The industry would face the yoke of onerous federal regulation and meddling that would stifle and slow future investment and experimentation.

For more on the topic, see ICLE’s issue spotlight laying out the history of Title II and net neutrality, as well as our comments to the FCC on their notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM). To schedule an interview with Eric about the topic, contact ICLE Media and Communications Manager Elizabeth Lincicome at (919) 744-8087 or [email protected].

ICLE Director of Law & Economics Programs Gus Hurwitz was quoted by the Associated Press in a story about President Joe Biden’s signing of a bill requiring Chinese firm ByteDance to sell its TikTok subsidiary. You can read the full piece here.

The battle could also string along for some time, with the potential for appeals that could go all the way to the Supreme Court, which would likely uphold the law due to its current composition, said Gus Hurwitz, a senior fellow at the University of Pennsylvania’s Carey Law School.

…“One of the unfortunate and really frustrating things about national-security legislation (is that) it tends to be a trump card,” Hurwitz said. “Once national-security issues come up, they’re going to carry the day either successfully or not.”

Hurwitz added that he thinks there are legitimate national-security arguments that could be brought up here. National security can be argued because it’s a federal measure, he added. That sets this scenario apart from previously unsuccessful state-level legislation seeking to ban TikTok, such as in Montana.