Resources Archive - Page 2 of 229 - International Center for Law & Economics

July 24, 2019

The Unconstitutionality of the FCC’s Leased Access Rules

Ben Sperry

Monday July 22, ICLE filed a regulatory comment arguing the leased access requirements enforced by the FCC are unconstitutional compelled speech that violate the First Amendment.

Antitrust & Consumer Protection

July 24, 2019

Merger Lore: Dispelling the Myth of the Maverick

Eric Fruits

The idea of the maverick firm requires that the firm play a critical role in the market. The maverick must be the firm that outflanks coordinated action or acts as a bulwark against unilateral action. By this loosey goosey definition of maverick, a single firm can make the difference between success or failure of anticompetitive behavior by its competitors.

Antitrust & Consumer Protection

July 22, 2019

The Unconstitutionality of the FCC's Leased Access Rules

Ben Sperry

ICLE submitted comments to the FCC on the First Amendment implications of the leased access rules. Associate Director, Legal Research Ben Sperry argued the changes in the video marketplace towards competition undercut the justification for subjecting regulation of cable operators' speech to only intermediate scrutiny.

Telecommunications

July 18, 2019

ICLE Comments on Implementation of Section 621(a)(1) of the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984

Geoffrey A. Manne & Kristian Stout & Alec Stapp

In this ex parte letter, ICLE analyzes the law and economics of both the underlying statute and the FCC's proposed rulemaking that would affect the interpretation of cable franchise fees. For a variety of reasons set forth in the letter, we believe that the Commission is on firm legal and economic footing to adopt its proposed Order. Congress intentionally enacted the five percent revenue cap to prevent LFAs from relying on cable franchise fees as an unlimited general revenue source. In order to maintain the proper incentives for network buildout — which are ever more-critical as our economy increasingly relies on high-speed broadband networks — the Commission should adopt the proposed Order.

Telecommunications

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