Nominations to the Federal Trade Commission Hearing
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Twelve Fallacies of the “Neo-Antitrust” Movement
TWELVE FALLACIES OF THE “NEO-ANTITRUST” MOVEMENT Seth B. Sacher John M. Yun Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University George Mason University Law & Economics Research Paper Series 19-12 This paper is available on the Social Science Research Network at ssrn.com/abstract=3369013 TWELVE FALLACIES OF THE “NEO-ANTITRUST” MOVEMENT Seth B. Sachera and John M. Yunb Antonin Scalia Law School George Mason University May 1, 2019 Abstract Antitrust enforcement is back in the spotlight with advocates from both the political left and the populist political right demanding fundamental competition policy changes. While there are differences among those calling for such changes, several common beliefs generally unite them. This includes a contention that the writings and interpretations of Robert Bork and the Chicago School of economics have led antitrust astray in a manner fundamentally inconsistent with the original intent of the Sherman Act. Further, they are united by a belief that recent empirical, economic studies indicate the economy is becoming overly concentrated, that market power has been increasing dramatically, that performance in many, if not most, markets has been deficient, and that too much profit is going to too few firms. In this article, we identify and detail twelve fallacies of what we call the “neo-antitrust movement” and their associated claims. At the heart of these fallacies is a fundamental misunderstanding of economics and the consumer welfare standard that has been at the heart of competition policy since at least the 1960s. Additionally, there is a heavy reliance on studies that, upon closer scrutiny, do not support the positions of those who cite them. -
The Rule of Law & FTC: Thesis & Antithesis? Some Proposals
Volume 86 Issue 3 Dickinson Law Review - Volume 86, 1981-1982 3-1-1982 The Rule of Law & FTC: Thesis & Antithesis? Some Proposals John A. Maher Follow this and additional works at: https://ideas.dickinsonlaw.psu.edu/dlra Recommended Citation John A. Maher, The Rule of Law & FTC: Thesis & Antithesis? Some Proposals, 86 DICK. L. REV. 403 (1982). Available at: https://ideas.dickinsonlaw.psu.edu/dlra/vol86/iss3/2 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Reviews at Dickinson Law IDEAS. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dickinson Law Review by an authorized editor of Dickinson Law IDEAS. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Rule of Law & FTC: Thesis & Antithesis? Some Proposals John A. Maher* I. Introduction A. Recent Events December 17, 1980 is a remarkable date for those interested in either quality of government or, more particularly, evolution of the Federal Trade Commission's sense of the unfair.' On that day, the five Commissioners then in office2 purported to renounce Commis- sion reliance on what they apparently regarded as a non-exclusive substantive rule of decision concerning the content of their enabling 3 act's use of "unfair . .acts or practices." That renounced can be said to possess the cachet of Supreme Court approval by reason of a unanimous opinion in FTC.v. Sperry & Hutchinson Co.4 (S&H). * A.B. 1951, University of Notre Dame; LL.B. 1956, LL.M. (Trade Regulation) 1957, New York University; Professor, Dickinson School of Law. Professor Maher currently serves the Banking & Business Law Section of the Pennsylvania Bar Association as chairperson of its antitrust committee and as a member of its committee for reform and recodification of Penn- sylvania's corporation and partnership laws. -
Amazon's Antitrust Paradox
LINA M. KHAN Amazon’s Antitrust Paradox abstract. Amazon is the titan of twenty-first century commerce. In addition to being a re- tailer, it is now a marketing platform, a delivery and logistics network, a payment service, a credit lender, an auction house, a major book publisher, a producer of television and films, a fashion designer, a hardware manufacturer, and a leading host of cloud server space. Although Amazon has clocked staggering growth, it generates meager profits, choosing to price below-cost and ex- pand widely instead. Through this strategy, the company has positioned itself at the center of e- commerce and now serves as essential infrastructure for a host of other businesses that depend upon it. Elements of the firm’s structure and conduct pose anticompetitive concerns—yet it has escaped antitrust scrutiny. This Note argues that the current framework in antitrust—specifically its pegging competi- tion to “consumer welfare,” defined as short-term price effects—is unequipped to capture the ar- chitecture of market power in the modern economy. We cannot cognize the potential harms to competition posed by Amazon’s dominance if we measure competition primarily through price and output. Specifically, current doctrine underappreciates the risk of predatory pricing and how integration across distinct business lines may prove anticompetitive. These concerns are height- ened in the context of online platforms for two reasons. First, the economics of platform markets create incentives for a company to pursue growth over profits, a strategy that investors have re- warded. Under these conditions, predatory pricing becomes highly rational—even as existing doctrine treats it as irrational and therefore implausible. -
Caspar Weinberger and the Reagan Defense Buildup
The University of Southern Mississippi The Aquila Digital Community Dissertations Fall 12-2013 Direct Responsibility: Caspar Weinberger and the Reagan Defense Buildup Robert Howard Wieland University of Southern Mississippi Follow this and additional works at: https://aquila.usm.edu/dissertations Part of the American Studies Commons, Military History Commons, Political History Commons, and the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Wieland, Robert Howard, "Direct Responsibility: Caspar Weinberger and the Reagan Defense Buildup" (2013). Dissertations. 218. https://aquila.usm.edu/dissertations/218 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by The Aquila Digital Community. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of The Aquila Digital Community. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The University of Southern Mississippi DIRECT RESPONSIBILITY: CASPAR WEINBERGER AND THE REAGAN DEFENSE BUILDUP by Robert Howard Wieland Abstract of a Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate School Of The University of Southern Mississippi In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy December 2013 ABSTRACT DIRECT RESPONSIBILITY: CASPAR WEINBERGER AND THE REAGAN DEFENSE BUILDUP by Robert Howard Wieland December 2013 This dissertation explores the life of Caspar Weinberger and explains why President Reagan chose him for Secretary of Defense. Weinberger, not a defense technocrat, managed a massive defense buildup of 1.5 trillion dollars over a four year period. A biographical approach to Weinberger illuminates Reagan’s selection, for in many ways Weinberger harkens back to an earlier type of defense manager more akin to Elihu Root than Robert McNamara; more a man of letters than technocrat. -
Academia and Law, 63-64 Administrative Law Judges (Aljs), 54, 86
INDEX academia and law, 63-64 administrative law judges (ALJs), 54, 86, 153-54 advertising, 72 and children, 77 corrective, 52-53 industry study, 54-55 Joe Camel campaign, 167-68 Aleinikoff, T. Alexander, 184 American Bar Association Antitrust Law Section, 42,43,44,45, 93, 108-109, 138 Commission to Study the FTC, 42-50 second Kirkpatrick Commission Report, 84, 124 Anthony, Sheila, 163 AOL (America On Line), 140, 147-48 Areeda, Phillip E., 68, 71 Areen, Judith, 100, 101, 108, 184 Arnold & Porter, 30, 52, 60, 92, 178, 180, 182, 187 Ashenfeld, Orley, 143 Askanaga, Mary, 123 Association of American Law Schools (AALS), 67 automobile industry, 75-76 Baer, William J., 89-90, 124, 135, 160, 171 Baker, Jonathan, 124 Bar Association of the District of Columbia, 93-94 Bartel, Paul, 81 Bator, Paul, 64, 68, 70, 71 Baxter, William, 91 Beard, Dita, 87 Beechnut/Heinz, 142, 145-46 Bernstein, Jodie, 51-52, 124, 128, 133, 135, 139, 154, 165, 167, 171 Bar Association of the District of Columbia, 93, 94 and Food and Drug Administration (FDA), 173 identity theft measures, 176-77 review process changes, 169-70 Bernstein, Lewis, 28 Bingaman, Anne, 116-17,121, 137 Black, Charles, 19 Blake, Harlan, 39,40,43, 62 Boast, Molly, 171 Boies, David, 125, 156, 157 -AI- Bok, Betty, 43 Bork, Robert, 3 8, 120 BP/Arco, 148-49 Brandeis, Louis D., 125 Brennan, William J., 5, 100 Breyer, Stephen, 60, 68, 71, 152 Brown, Charles, 157 Browne, John, 148 Buc, Nancy, 5 1,56 Bureau of Consumer Protection. See Federal Trade Commission Burson, Charles, 119 Bush, George, 121, 179 Bush, George W., 163, 179, 180 Califano, Joseph, 33,61,68, 100, 106 Calkins, Stephen, 124 cartels, 128-30 Carter, James E. -
FTC Nominee Expected to Oppose Broad Privacy Rules
Portfolio Media. Inc. | 860 Broadway, 6th Floor | New York, NY 10003 | www.law360.com Phone: +1 646 783 7100 | Fax: +1 646 783 7161 | [email protected] FTC Nominee Expected To Oppose Broad Privacy Rules By Bibeka Shrestha Law360, New York (September 2, 2011) -- If confirmed, Federal Trade Commission nominee Maureen Ohlhausen would likely call for greater transparency about privacy practices but fight comprehensive restrictions on the collection and use of consumer information, according to privacy experts. Should the Senate greenlight President Barack Obama's pick, Ohlhausen would leave her partner position at Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP's privacy, data protection and cybersecurity practice to join the FTC's five-member board as its second Republican commissioner for a seven-year term starting Sept. 26. Ohlhausen would replace Republican Commissioner William Kovacic, who has served on the commission since January 2006. Experts say it would be surprising for the technology policy heavyweight to meekly sign on to FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz's privacy agenda, which seeks to set a minimum standard of conduct for companies across the board that collect personal information, rather than focusing on specific sectors like the financial industry. "As a general matter, I do not think that she would not support 'substantive' regulation — restrictions on what companies can collect and disclose or how they can use the information that they collect," said Andrew Smith, a Morrison & Foerster LLP partner who worked closely with Ohlhausen while at the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. Leibowitz has sought to move past the notice-and-choice mechanism espoused under the George W. -
Amazon's Surveillance Infrastructure and Revitalizing a Fair Marketplace
JULY 2021 Eyes Everywhere: Amazon's Surveillance Infrastructure and Revitalizing a Fair Marketplace Daniel A. Hanley 1 1 Contents Executive Summary ................................................................................ 2 I. Introduction ........................................................................................ 3 II. Competitor Surveillance ......................................................................... 4 A. Amazon Marketplace ...................................................................... 4 B. Amazon Web Services ...................................................................... 5 C. Fulfillment by Amazon ..................................................................... 6 III. Consumer Surveillance ...................................................................... 7 A. Amazon Marketplace ...................................................................... 7 B. Amazon Alexa .................................................................................. 8 C. Amazon Ring .................................................................................... 9 D. Amazon's Other Consumer Surveillance Ambitions ..................... 10 IV. Harms .............................................................................................. 11 A. Copying Competitor Products ...................................................... 11 B. Self-Preferencing ............................................................................ 13 C. Arbitrary and Exclusionary Rules .................................................. -
What Does Lina Khan's Appointment As FTC Chair Mean for Your Business?
Litigation & Arbitration Group Client Alert What Does Lina Khan’s Appointment as FTC Chair Mean for Your Business? June 25, 2021 Contact Fiona Schaeffer Andrew Wellin Eric Hyla Lena K. Bruce Partner Special Counsel Associate Associate +1 212.530.5243 +1 212.530.5432 +1 212.530.5243 +1 212.530.5028 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] On June 15, 2021, within hours of her Senate confirmation as a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Commissioner, 32-year-old Lina Khan was appointed by President Biden to serve as the youngest FTC Chair in history. Khan has established herself as a progressive antitrust activist and a leader of the “New Brandeis Movement”1 that advocates for a revival of more aggressive U.S. antitrust policies and enforcement from the earlier part of the 20th century. Khan’s most widely-recognized and influential work, “Amazon’s Antitrust Paradox,” published in the Yale Law Journal in 2017 (while she was a Yale law student), argues that the current US antitrust paradigm (heavily influenced by the Chicago School) is too narrowly focused on consumer welfare and “is unequipped to capture the architecture of market power in the modern economy.”2 Because the consumer welfare standard focuses on short-term price and output effects, it is ill-equipped to address the purported harms to competition that big tech platforms raise. In her article, Khan maintains that platform markets, such as Amazon, have evaded antitrust liability because they focus on long-term growth over short-term profits – in short, they can make predatory, below-cost pricing a rational and profitable strategy, and can control the infrastructure on which their rivals depend without raising prices or reducing output in the short-term. -
The End of Antitrust History Revisited
BOOK REVIEW THE END OF ANTITRUST HISTORY REVISITED THE CURSE OF BIGNESS: ANTITRUST IN THE NEW GILDED AGE. By Tim Wu. New York, N.Y.: Columbia Global Reports. 2018. Pp. 154. $14.99. Reviewed by Lina M. Khan∗ INTRODUCTION In April 2007 the Antitrust Modernization Commission reported to Congress that “the state of the U.S. antitrust laws” was “sound.”1 Created by lawmakers to examine whether antitrust laws should be re- vised, the bipartisan Commission concluded that existing statutes were sufficiently flexible to address emerging issues, and that courts, antitrust agencies, and practitioners were now in proper agreement that “con- sumer welfare” was the “unifying goal of antitrust law.”2 A decade later, the American Bar Association’s Antitrust Section delivered a similar as- sessment, remarking that “the Nation’s system of competition enforce- ment has been in good hands.”3 These reports represented a high-water mark of agreement within the antitrust community that, despite ongoing debates about specific doctrinal tests or particular standards of proof, antitrust law was, altogether, on the right course. The fact that antitrust had shed its public appeal in favor of an expert-driven enterprise — becoming “less democratic and more technocratic”4 — was generally seen as further evidence of its success.5 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– ∗ Academic Fellow, Columbia Law School; Counsel, U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law. This Review reflects my per- sonal views and not those of the Committee or any of its members. For insightful comments and conversations, I am grateful to Eleanor Fox, David Grewal, Lev Menand, John Newman, and Mar- shall Steinbaum. -
Congressional Record United States Th of America PROCEEDINGS and DEBATES of the 115 CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION
E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 115 CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION Vol. 164 WASHINGTON, WEDNESDAY, MAY 9, 2018 No. 75 House of Representatives The House met at 10 a.m. and was housing. Now, in my district, in the ownership is out of the question. Even called to order by the Speaker pro tem- East Bay in northern California, the as a dedicated public servant, I can’t pore (Mr. COMER). average renter in Oakland would be afford to work in urban schools in the f forced to spend a staggering—mind Bay area. you, staggering—70 percent of their in- A former student wrote me: I had to DESIGNATION OF SPEAKER PRO come on housing if they were to move withdraw from classes at UC Berkeley TEMPORE today. That is 70 percent. Clearly, the so I could find stable housing and The SPEAKER pro tempore laid be- affordable housing crisis is off the scale enough income to afford my monthly fore the House the following commu- in my district. rent. nication from the Speaker: In April, I sent an email to my con- Mr. Speaker, our community, our WASHINGTON, DC, stituents asking for their stories and country, cannot function without May 9, 2018. suggestions on how to address this very nurses, teachers, or young people living I hereby appoint the Honorable JAMES important issue. Today I would like to in decent affordable housing. We need COMER to act as Speaker pro tempore on this share just a few of those stories which to solve this crisis before it is too late. -
The FTC's Consumer Protection Program During the Miller Years: Lessons for Administrative Agency Structure and Operation
Catholic University Law Review Volume 46 Issue 2 Winter 1997 Article 3 1997 The FTC's Consumer Protection Program During the Miller Years: Lessons for Administrative Agency Structure and Operation Mark E. Budnitz Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.edu/lawreview Recommended Citation Mark E. Budnitz, The FTC's Consumer Protection Program During the Miller Years: Lessons for Administrative Agency Structure and Operation, 46 Cath. U. L. Rev. 371 (1997). Available at: https://scholarship.law.edu/lawreview/vol46/iss2/3 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by CUA Law Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Catholic University Law Review by an authorized editor of CUA Law Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE FTC'S CONSUMER PROTECTION PROGRAM DURING THE MILLER YEARS: LESSONS FOR ADMINISTRATIVE AGENCY STRUCTURE AND OPERATION Mark E. Budnitz* The conventional wisdom is that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) under President Carter's Chairman, Michael Pertschuk, turned the FTC into a renegade agency which engaged in runaway consumer protection, hamstringing business with excessive regulation to such an extent it be- came known as the "national nanny." 1 According to this popular view, Congress ultimately was compelled to rein in the agency to force it to return to the role Congress intended for it. The conventional wisdom portrays the FTC under Pertschuk's successor, President Reagan's ap- pointee James Miller, in very different yet equally immoderate terms. Miller supposedly went to the opposite extreme, acting as the puppet of the industry he was supposed to regulate by virtually halting the agency's consumer protection activities.2 This Article demonstrates that the reality was far more interesting, complex, and problematic than these generalities suggest. -
Using the "Consumer Choice" Approach to Antitrust Law Neil W
University of Baltimore Law ScholarWorks@University of Baltimore School of Law All Faculty Scholarship Faculty Scholarship 2007 Using the "Consumer Choice" Approach to Antitrust Law Neil W. Averitt Bureau of Competition, Federal Trade Commission Robert H. Lande University of Baltimore School of Law, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.law.ubalt.edu/all_fac Part of the Antitrust and Trade Regulation Commons, and the Law and Economics Commons Recommended Citation Using the "Consumer Choice" Approach to Antitrust Law, 74 Antitrust L.J. 175 (2007) This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Faculty Scholarship at ScholarWorks@University of Baltimore School of Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Faculty Scholarship by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@University of Baltimore School of Law. For more information, please contact [email protected]. USING THE "CONSUMER CHOICE" APPROACH TO ANTITRUST LAW NEIL W. AVERITT ROBERT H. LANDE* The current paradigms of antitrust law-price and efficiency-do not work well enough. True, they were an immense improvement over their predecessors, and they have served the field competently for a genera tion, producing reasonably accurate results in most circumstances. Accu mulated experience has also revealed their shortcomings, however. The price and efficiency paradigms are hard to fully understand and are not particularly transparent in their application. Moreover, in a disturbingly large number of circumstances they are unable to handle the important issue of nonprice competition. In this article we suggest replacing the older paradigms with the somewhat broader approach of "consumer choice." 1 The choice framework has several advantages.