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Ireland’s Massive Fine Against Meta Could Erode Trust In EU Law

Popular Media The €1.2 billion fine that the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) against Meta marks a new record for violation of the EU’s General Data Protection . . .

The €1.2 billion fine that the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) against Meta marks a new record for violation of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), but it is the DPC’s order that the company to shut off its transatlantic flow of user data that will have the most far-reaching consequences for international trade, privacy policy, and the rule of law.

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Data Security & Privacy

Restoring the Rule of Law in Finance

Scholarship The unraveling of the rule of law in finance is inherent in the system’s discretionary process of regulation. Each financial crisis begets new regulations and . . .

The unraveling of the rule of law in finance is inherent in the system’s discretionary process of regulation. Each financial crisis begets new regulations and new regulatory agencies with more expansive and discretionary powers. The general entanglement of finance, leftist interest groups, and the federal regulatory apparatus has created a threat to freedom that is almost unique in history. Leftist activists, “woke” corporations, and regulators and politicians have recognized and acted on the opportunity to use the financial regulatory system both to enact preferred policies through anti-democratic means and to silence their ideological opponents. As governmental power grows, the threat of its misuse grows concomitantly.

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Financial Regulation & Corporate Governance

Prop 103’s Author Isn’t the Final Word on What Prop 103 Says

Popular Media It’s been 35 years since Californians voted by a narrow majority to pass Proposition 103, completely overhauling how the nation’s largest state regulates the business of . . .

It’s been 35 years since Californians voted by a narrow majority to pass Proposition 103, completely overhauling how the nation’s largest state regulates the business of insurance.

That’s an awfully long time. So long, it seems, that even the man who wrote Prop 103 appears to have forgotten what it actually says.

Read the full piece here.

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Financial Regulation & Corporate Governance

No More Kings? Due Process and Regulation Without Representation Under the UK Competition Bill

TOTM What should a competition law for 21st century look like? This point is debated across many jurisdictions. The Digital Markets, Competition, and Consumers Bill (DMCC) would change . . .

What should a competition law for 21st century look like? This point is debated across many jurisdictions. The Digital Markets, Competition, and Consumers Bill (DMCC) would change UK competition law’s approach to large platforms. The bill’s core point is to place the UK Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) Digital Markets Unit (DMU) on a statutory footing with relaxed evidentiary standards to regulate so-called “Big Tech” firms more easily. This piece considers some areas to watch as debate regarding the bill unfold.

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Antitrust & Consumer Protection

Dirk Auer Before the UK House of Lords on the UK’s Digital Markets Bill

Presentations & Interviews ICLE Director of Competition Policy Dirk Auer testified before the UK House of Lords’ Communications and Digital Committee in a May 23, 2023 hearing reviewing . . .

ICLE Director of Competition Policy Dirk Auer testified before the UK House of Lords’ Communications and Digital Committee in a May 23, 2023 hearing reviewing the Digital Markets, Consumer and Competition Bill. Videos of his answers to the Lords’ questions are embedded below.

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Antitrust & Consumer Protection

Twitter v. Taamneh: Intermediary Liability, The First Amendment, and Section 230

TOTM After the oral arguments in Twitter v. Taamneh, Geoffrey Manne, Kristian Stout, and I spilled a lot of ink thinking through the law & economics of intermediary liability . . .

After the oral arguments in Twitter v. Taamneh, Geoffrey Manne, Kristian Stout, and I spilled a lot of ink thinking through the law & economics of intermediary liability and how to draw lines when it comes to social-media companies’ responsibility to prevent online harms stemming from illegal conduct on their platforms. With the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Twitter v. Taamneh, it is worth revisiting that post to see what we got right, as well as what the opinion could mean for future First Amendment cases—particularly those concerning Texas and Florida’s common-carriage laws and other challenges to the bounds of Section 230 more generally.

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Innovation & the New Economy

How Much Information Do Markets Require?

TOTM One of the biggest names in economics, Daron Acemoglu, recently joined the mess that is Twitter. He wasted no time in throwing out big ideas for . . .

One of the biggest names in economics, Daron Acemoglu, recently joined the mess that is Twitter. He wasted no time in throwing out big ideas for discussion and immediately getting tons of, let us say, spirited replies.

One of Acemoglu’s threads involved a discussion of F.A. Hayek’s famous essay “The Use of Knowledge in Society,” wherein Hayek questions central planners’ ability to acquire and utilize such knowledge. Echoing many other commentators, Acemoglu asks: can supercomputers and artificial intelligence get around Hayek’s concerns?

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Antitrust & Consumer Protection

Geoff Manne on the Relationship Between Antitrust Enforcement and Democracy

Presentations & Interviews ICLE President Geoff Manne joined the American Bar Association’s Our Curious Amalgam podcast to debate Spencer Waller of the Loyola University Chicago School of Law . . .

ICLE President Geoff Manne joined the American Bar Association’s Our Curious Amalgam podcast to debate Spencer Waller of the Loyola University Chicago School of Law over the core purpose of antitrust and whether it should be solely concerned with economic efficiency, or also used as a tool to uphold and promote democratic values. The full conversation is embedded below.

 

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Antitrust & Consumer Protection

Brian Albrecht on Robert Lucas and Armen Alchian

Presentations & Interviews ICLE Chief Economist Brian Albrecht joined the Human Action Podcast to discuss the work of economists Armen Alchian and Robert Lucas. Video of the full . . .

ICLE Chief Economist Brian Albrecht joined the Human Action Podcast to discuss the work of economists Armen Alchian and Robert Lucas. Video of the full conversation is embedded below.

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Antitrust & Consumer Protection