Resources Archive - International Center for Law & Economics

July 15, 2019

The Third Circuit’s Oberdorf v. Amazon Opinion Offers a Good Approach to Reining in the Worst Abuses of Section 230

Gus Hurwitz

In a remarkable ruling issued earlier this month, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals held in Oberdorf v. Amazon that, under Pennsylvania products liability law, Amazon could be found liable for a third party vendor’s sale of a defective product via Amazon Marketplace.

Data Security & Privacy

July 15, 2019

There’s Nothing “Conservative” About Trump’s Views on Free Speech and the Regulation of Social Media

Ben Sperry

Despite the simplistic narrative tying President Trump’s vision of the world to conservatism, there is nothing conservative about his views on the First Amendment and how it applies to social media companies.

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 10, 2019

Economic Calculation in the Public Defender’s Office

Ben Sperry

After spending a few years away from ICLE and directly engaging in the day to day grind of indigent criminal defense as a public defender, I now have a new appreciation for the ways economic tools can explain behavior that I had not before studied.

Antitrust & Consumer Protection

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

June 30, 2019

Concluding Comments: The Weaknesses of Interventionist Claims (FTC Hearings, ICLE Comment 11)

Dirk Auer & Geoffrey A. Manne & Julian Morris & Alec Stapp & Kristian Stout

FTC Hearings on Competition & Consumer Protection in the 21st Century. Comments of the International Center for Law & Economics: Summing Up the FTC Hearings: Advocates for Increased Antitrust Intervention Failed to Make Their Case. Submitted Jun 30, 2019.

Antitrust & Consumer Protection

June 25, 2019

Chevron 's Political Domain: W(h)ither Step Three

Gus Hurwitz

This Essay takes prior work on Chevron in a new direction, arguing that broad deference doctrines have the largely unrecognized but particularly pernicious effect of increasing the political gridlock and politicization of the legislative process.

Antitrust & Consumer Protection

June 20, 2019

New Paper Reveals “Stealth” Consolidation But Competitive Effects Remain Hidden

Alec Stapp

ICLE Research Fellow Alec Stapp responds to a new paper by Thomas Wollman in the American Economic Review regarding “stealth” consolidation and its allegedly anticompetitive effects.

Antitrust & Consumer Protection

June 18, 2019

Response to McGeveran’s The Duty of Data Security: Not the Objective Duty He Wants, Maybe the Subjective Duty We Need

Gus Hurwitz

This response argues that in his efforts to locate a clear duty in existing data security law he has identified a standard that, in all meaningful ways, is one of subjective (not objective) reasonableness – and therefore offers no clarity at all.

Data Security & Privacy