Antitrust, Competition Law, and Consumer Protection
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All Things Tech
How COVID-19 helped the struggling drone industry take flight. All of a sudden, the benefits of keeping people on the ground and sending unmanned aircraft aloft became obvious to a lot more companies
Building the tech-enabled government of the future—a ‘Day 1’ list of common pitfalls
Chinese groups go from fish to chips in new ‘Great Leap Forward.’ Beijing semiconductor push draws companies from sectors such as seafood and autoparts
From AI to facial recognition: how China is setting the rules in new tech. In its bid to rival the US, Beijing wants to establish the industrial standards that will shape future industries
Germany wants EU to double down on idea that would hinder the AI economy. Germany has called on the EU to abandon its proposal, arguing that tougher rules should apply for all sectors that use AI and even for AI applications that do not pose a significant risk
White House nears new rules on artificial intelligence. Regulatory guidelines aim to balance fostering growth and controlling industry, administration’s chief technology officer says
The tech that's championing the public good. While some technologies are tearing us apart, the Tech Spotlight finalists, selected from over 200 submissions worldwide, are helping shape a better future
An appetite for innovation. University College London professor Vaughn Tan offers lessons in innovation from the world of high cuisine
I don’t use it myself, but these 6 Chrome freebies are killer time-savers. Limit time-sucking sites, make short work of Gmail, get a handle on your passwords, and more
New technologies your business cannot afford to ignore. There is a greater emphasis on businesses to deploy technologies so they can keep up with the competition, but the digital transformation needs to be handled sensitively for it to be successful
The Facebook-Twitter-Trump wars are actually about something else. Our institutions have failed to rein in Donald Trump. So people look to Big Tech
Intel nears deal to sell NAND memory unit to South Korean chip maker SK Hynix. Deal could be valued at around $10 billion
Can the EU’s 5G toolbox be useful in the Huawei debate? Also, is Germany’s Huawei dance over?
Why can’t I fix my own phone, toaster, or tractor?
20 ways 2020 changed how we use technology forever. Our reliance on technology while isolated at home these past months has permanently altered our relationship to gadgets
Ex-Googler Meredith Whittaker on political power in tech, the flaws of ‘The Social Dilemma,’ and more. In a new interview, the tech labour activist and A.I. researcher discusses major issues in Silicon Valley today
As EU starts to draft its most important new online law, The Digital Services Act, MEPs want basic rights high on the agenda
An EU framework for artificial intelligence [pdf]
Epic loses court bid to force Apple to reinstate Fortnite in the App Store. Epic says Apple ‘has no rights to the fruits of Epic’s labour’ in latest filing. The game maker is locked in a battle with Apple over App Store fees
How to make AI more humane. The technology that drives more of our societies and economies is too important to be left just to coders, says law professor Frank Pasquale
Damien Gerardin on what is a digital gatekeeper?
When does predictive technology become unethical?
A measured approach to regulating fast-changing tech
Algorithms are making economic inequality worse
The tech giants’ cultures are incompatible with fixing the societal problems they’re causing
CEOs of Google, Twitter, and Facebook grilled in Senate hearing…again. The latest tech hearing is about helping Trump on election day. Senate Republicans don’t want answers from the CEOs, they want to cow them
Big tech continues its surge ahead of the rest of the economy. Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Alphabet reported the latest in a string of enormous quarterly profits on Thursday
Amazon and Google’s true advantage. These companies have mastered spending big to stay Big Tech
How to take on the tech barons. Something has to be done about the technology sector. Here’s what to keep in mind.
U.S. antitrust case accuses Google of strangling competition. Prosecutors call tech group a ‘monopoly gatekeeper for the internet’ in lawsuit
Read the antitrust lawsuit against Google
US seeks to rein in Google on search
Google’s exclusive search deals with Apple at heart of antitrust lawsuit. The Justice Department’s lawsuit claims that the Alphabet unit misused its power in an anti-competitive manner, potentially threatening a major revenue stream for both tech giants.
Google antitrust lawsuit: Why Is DOJ suing the search giant?
A guide to the lawsuit
What is happening with the antitrust suit against Google? The suit is the first antitrust action against the company to result from investigations by American regulators.
Google critics cheer DOJ suit, but skeptics question motives
States prepare to file own antitrust cases against Google. At least two overlapping groups of attorneys general are investigating the company
Google’s long tail of probes
U.S. files antitrust lawsuit. The lawsuit marks the most aggressive U.S. legal challenge to a company’s dominance in the tech sector in more than two decades, with the potential to shake up Silicon Valley and beyond
The Justice Dept.’s lawsuit against Google: Too little, too late. The time to do anything substantive about the overwhelming power of the giant tech companies passed very long ago
The businesses where Google is biggest (and the ones where it isn’t). As the company faces a government antitrust suit, here is a look at its footprint in several areas of tech
Google, U.S. government each face challenges in court fight. Former CEO Eric Schmidt takes aim at Justice Department antitrust suit
Google antitrust case centres on consumer choice and how rivals get boxed out. The suit likely won’t result in a big breakup of Google, but it could change how you search the Web on your phone
Google employees are free to speak up. Except on antitrust. A company operating in the shadow of government regulators has some very particular rules about what workers can say about it
Google antitrust fight thrusts low-key C.E.O. into the line of fire. Sundar Pichai, chief executive of Google’s parent company for less than a year, already faces the internet giant’s biggest threat in its 22 years.
Forget antitrust laws. To limit tech, some say a new regulator is needed. Even as the Justice Department sued Google, some antitrust experts wondered whether a different government response would be more effective
Some thoughts on Washington’s war against Google and some more thoughts by the American Enterprise Institute
Google lawsuit: the opening salvo in a battle to restrain Big Tech. With broad political support, antitrust action could lay the groundwork for more cases against tech
Google calls it a deeply flawed lawsuit that would do nothing to help consumers
A first look at U.S. v Google
A US antitrust suit might break up Google. Good – it's the Standard Oil of our day. Republicans and Democrats agree on something: big tech’s power threatens our economies and our flow of information
Tim Wu’s Google case explanation and evaluation for non-lawyers
Google's defence against antitrust lawsuit? You
Artificial intelligence and the antitrust case against Google
House lawmakers condemn big tech’s ‘monopoly power’ and urge their breakups. In a report led by Democrats, lawmakers said Apple, Amazon, Google, and Facebook needed to be checked and recommended they be restructured and that antitrust laws be reformed. U.S. House Democrats urge antitrust changes that may break up big tech. House Democrats say tech companies have monopoly that needs to be broken up. The House Report On Competition In Digital Markets is a triumph. House antitrust report (449 pg, PDF) targets big tech monopoly power and urges breakup. House Dems briefing Biden team on tech antitrust report. House subcommittee’s big tech report lays a foundation for rebuilding democracy. The House antitrust report is a major step toward reining in Big Tech
Lawmakers on both sides call for antitrust action against big tech. GOP Sen. Hawley says an antitrust suit against Google has merit, while Democratic Rep. Cicilline calls for new government enforcement capabilities
Justice Department’s antitrust chief Makan Delrahim on Big Tech regulation
Japan joining EU, US in antitrust war on Big Tech
Bill Gates says that antitrust regulators should look at tech companies separately, not all at once. There are issues specific to social media companies that don’t necessarily apply to commerce companies
It is indeed "time for choosing" on the role of antitrust
House antitrust report on Big Tech recommends punishing business success
The Big Tech antitrust report has one big conclusion: Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google are anti-competitive. The report scrutinises the ways the four biggest tech companies have amassed enormous market power
Big Tech’s big competition problem: Analysing the House Judiciary Antitrust Report [YouTube]
Concentrated power in Big Tech harms the U.S. The outsized influence of corporations is America’s biggest competitive threat
The most interesting thing happening in competition policy
How big firms rip off African consumers. Competition law alone may not be enough to break their grip
Monopoly power is running wild. We need tough competition laws to rein it in
‘Fortnite’ will remain out of Apple’s app store ahead of trial, Judge rules. Ruling followed Epic Games’ motion for a preliminary injunction
Instagram to tackle hidden advertising after CMA action. Instagram will do more to prevent hidden advertising on its app and website, signalling an important behaviour shift by a major platform
recently confirmed to the SCOTUS, Amy Coney Barrett, says antitrust law is “controlled by precedent.” See also, The mystery of Amy Coney Barrett. A judge who will soon wield immense power is giving little away
UK regulator seeks to review O2-Virgin deal
Herbert Hovenkamp on antitrust and regulation over time. As the scope of regulation in an industry narrows, the scope of potential antitrust liability becomes broader
What the U.S. economy could look like if digital markets were open and competitive
The FCC has untapped powers. The next administration needs to use them. It won’t take a new communications act to give any Biden nominees the power to go after telecom and media monopolies
Antitrust as economic stimulus
The challenges to (Re)forming a platform economy for the people
F.T.C. decision on pursuing Facebook antitrust case is said to be near. Any action would follow the Justice Department’s landmark suit this week against Google, as a bipartisan tech backlash ramps up
Antitrust in an election year – Back to the Future: In Need of a New Antitrust Framework
Why Facebook and Google face the most risk in an overhaul of antitrust law
Germany's anti-trust authority has launched an investigation into Amazon and Apple over possible anticompetitive behaviour
Tech isn’t the only sector deserving of antitrust investigation
Lina Khan: she’s bursting tech’s big bubble
UK government departments leak personal data
China unveils first law on personal data protection
Virus outbreak puts focus on online privacy, data protection
It’s not so simple who owns “your” data
Amazon's latest gimmicks are pushing the limits of privacy. Privacy advocates warn that the Ring Always Home Cam and Amazon One both normalise aggressive new forms of data collection
The lawless realm. Countering the real cyberthreat
Oxford’s Dr Carissa Véliz talks about a ticking time bomb: The real and present danger of the data economy. See also The Future of Privacy
Data protection or data frustration? Individual perceptions and attitudes towards the GDPR [pdf]
ODI on data institutions: reducing costs and improving sustainability [pdf]
EU’s top court restricts personal-data transfers to U.S., citing surveillance concerns. Surprise ruling will potentially disrupt operations for thousands of multinational companies
Alibaba-owned Lazada reports data hack of 1.1 million accounts from its Redmart online supermarket site
2030: How Today's Biggest Trends Will Collide and Reshape the Future of Everything by Mauro F Guillen. A ground-breaking analysis from one of the world's foremost experts on global trends, including analysis on how COVID-19 will amplify and accelerate each of these changes
No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention. There has never been a company like Netflix before and cofounder Reed Hastings reveals for the first time the unorthodox culture behind it
The Upswing: How America Came Together a Century Ago and How We Can Do It Again by Robert D. Putnam and Shaylyn Romney Garrett. An analysis of economic, social, and political trends over the past century demonstrating how we have gone from an individualistic "I" society to a more communitarian "We" society and then back again, and how we can learn from that experience to become a stronger, more unified nation
The cautionary tale of Adam Neumann and WeWork is found in Billion Dollar Loser – The Epic Rise and Spectacular Fall of Adam Neumann and WeWork by Reeves Wiedeman
Monopolies Suck: 7 Ways Big Corporations Rule Your Life and How to Take Back Control, by Sally Hubbard, shows how monopoly power is harming everyday Americans and practical ways we can all fight back.
The Regulatory Review celebrates ten years of regulatory guidance
Government regulation is the pro-market solution
Your Board needs a data-integrity committee
Covid-19 Is rewriting the rules of corporate governance
Central Bank digital currency is inevitable. Alex Cukierman, professor of economics at Tel Aviv University, claims in a working paper that central bank digital currencies will allow these banks to retain monetary policy as a macroeconomic tool as well as to capture “the substantial transaction costs savings associated with new fintech technologies.”
A new law is crushing a key part of California's job market. It needs to be overhauled before it gets used as a model for other states across the U.S.
Uber, Lyft are spending millions to fight labour protections for their workers. How organised labour is teaming up with app-based workers in California to take on corporate giants
Uber accused in lawsuit of bullying drivers in its app to support Prop 22. An attorney for the drivers says the messages violate California law
Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and other gig-economy giants have contributed nearly $200 million to persuade California voters to approve a ballot measure that would exempt them from a law requiring businesses to reclassify contract workers as employees.
FCC Chairman says he will move to ‘clarify’ Section 230, threatening tech’s legal shield
Section 230 reform: Can the FCC regulate the internet?
The Fair Work Project’s September 2020 report on COVID-19 and the gig economy [pdf]
Quibi Is Hollywood’s biggest short-form failure – but not its first. Streaming platform pitched high-production shows in format dominated by user-generated content
Inspire Brands has made an offer worth $106.50 a share for New York-listed Dunkin’ Brands. $9bn deal with private equity-owned group would delist the coffee and doughnuts chain that includes 13,000 stores and 8,000 Baskin-Robbins stores
And European Coke bottler close to deal for Australian counterpart. Acquisition of Amatil for $7bn would continue consolidation of sector
Building bridges to new e-commerce markets. A report by the International Trade Centre, Geneva
e-Commerce has shifted into overdrive
The dark side of 2020’s e-Commerce boom? A surge in digital shoplifting
South Korea’s Universal Basic Income experiment to boost the economy. To stimulate its pandemic-hit economy, a province in South Korea has been experimenting with universal basic income programs by regularly giving out cash, no questions asked. Now, some politicians want to go national with the concept
Winning bid: how auction theory took the Nobel prize in economics. Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson’s work transformed how countries allocate resources in the public interest
Raghuram Rajan: ‘Society has to find a new equilibrium’ In the first of a series, the former Indian central banker explains why the solution to economic adversity is to strengthen local communities
Global economy: the week that austerity was officially buried. The IMF and World Bank are urging richer countries to spend their way out of the pandemic, although some developing nations face cuts
Theorising and mapping modern economic rents by M. Mazzucato, J. Ryan-Collins, G. Gouzoulis [pdf]
Progress can no longer be measured by growth in GDP. An economy of tech billionaires and gig workers, with middle-income jobs undercut by automation, is not politically sustainable
More than 1,000 economists have now signed letter urging voters to reject 'reckless and selfish' Trump on Election Day. Alvin Roth, a Nobel winner, is among them
The economy is down. Why are home prices up? Government efforts to stimulate growth are lifting markets of all kinds everywhere
Can your students tell the difference between fact and fiction?
Kill Your Idioms. “Killing two birds with one stone is actually harder than murdering them one after another.” Grant Kolton’s snarky animated short pokes fun at common English idioms like “You can’t judge a book by its cover” and reminds us that they’re not all to be taken as gospel
Reimagining higher education in the United States. As education leaders consider their options in the age of the COVID-19 crisis, they must rethink the conventional wisdom.
‘Dune’ is a behemoth of a book to adapt
Tech giants want EU ‘safeguard’ to proactively remove pirated content
David Lee Roth releases new song dedicated to Eddie Van Halen
U2’s ALL THAT YOU CAN’T LEAVE BEHIND turns 20 (wonderful article). Probably my favourite album of theirs since this century began. Still on the fence about the last two, though
The Mandalorian returns with a twist on award-winning composer Ludwig Göransson’s score
We are approaching the fastest, deepest, most consequential technological disruption in history. In the next 10 years, key technologies will converge to completely disrupt the five foundational sectors—information, energy, food, transportation, and materials—that underpin our global economy. We need to make sure the disruption benefits everyone
The COVID-19 economy carves deep divide between haves and have-nots. Comeback since start of pandemic is kind to those who can work from home, to firms serving them and to regions hospitable to them. Many others are left behind
Modi’s economic failings dim India’s $5 trillion dream
IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva: ‘The fund needs to have a big bazooka.’ The Bulgarian economist on spending in a pandemic — and what queueing for milk taught her about austerity
U.S. foreign policy took a narcissistic turn after the Cold War. Here’s how to set things right, according to H. R. McMaster (a retired Army lieutenant general, was President Trump’s national security adviser from 2017 to 2018)
And on foreign policy, what’s Biden’s new China policy? It looks a lot like Trump’s. Even with an administration change in January, China would face continued heightened friction with the U.S.
An American Statesman discusses China
More Americans are renouncing their citizenship. Nearly 37,000 (including Tina Turner and Boris Johnson) have expatriated over past decade
To save the climate, we have to reimagine capitalism, says Rebecca Henderson
The wealthiest 1% of Americans will drive positive household demand for stocks in 2021, Goldman Sachs says
These firms are in no rush to say ‘Made in the U.S.A.’ The pandemic was supposed to accelerate deglobalisation...
New World Disorder: will a US-China cold war and Covid-19 finally kill off the United Nations? It’s not just Trump and the World Health Organisation’s botched response to the coronavirus that have left the global body on life support
How the East India Company became the world's most powerful monopoly. The British corporation was founded under Queen Elizabeth I and rose to exploit overseas trade and become a dominating global player
Pfizer, BioNTech race to meet global Covid-19 vaccine needs. CEO of Pfizer’s German partner says its scrambling to boost production capacity as their vaccine undergoes late-stage trials
COVID-19: Implications for business
America and the Virus: ‘A Colossal Failure of Leadership.’ In its destruction of American lives, treasure and well-being, this pandemic marks the greatest failure of U.S. governance since Vietnam.
How to stop overeating the healthy way (Step-by-Step Guide)
Forget time management. Master this to meet all your productivity goals
27 strategies to achieve your goals fast
The 5 stages of getting over cell phone distraction
We need to ditch the 8-hour workday for good. It’s not unrealistic to get more done in two hours than most people do in a day
Time confetti and the broken promise of leisure. “Long blocks of free time we used to enjoy are now interrupted constantly by our smart watches, phones, tablets, and laptops.”
CEOs increasingly see sustainability as path to profitability. Ilham Kadri, who heads Belgian chemical company Solvay, is among a growing group of leaders who say sustainability will play a role in their company’s future success
How European marketing-and-sales leaders handle COVID-19’s effects. To mitigate the financial impacts of the pandemic, executives focus on consumer needs and reorganising their businesses for the next normal
The new New Rules of Business: Fast Company’s advice for the next 25 years. Fast Company launched 25 years with bold new rules for facing unprecedented times. They’ve been rewritten them to address the challenges ahead
Andrew Hoffman on business education as if society really matters [pdf]
How to build teams that trust each other. Everyone on the team needs to know the top three strengths and weaknesses of everyone on the team
Sometimes managing organisations well means stopping faster
The journey to agile: How companies can become faster, more productive, and more responsive
The HOW Institute for Society on The State of Moral Leadership in Business 2020
Led Zeppelin emerges victor in 'Stairway to Heaven' plagiarism case. The British rock band won a long-running battle over claims it stole the opening guitar riff from its signature 1971 song
The other side of the pen: songs about songwriters. Occasionally, they expand their focus to include their fellow travellers
Bruce Springsteen reckons with mortality
On Bruce Springsteen’s new album, the Boss Reflects on the Boss. But Letter to You is more than just another trip back through his glory days
TikTok puts Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours back in Billboard’s top 10. “Now here you go again…”
Climate change hits rock and roll as prized guitar wood shortage looms and affects Fender. Flooding and a wood-boring beetle threaten supplies of storied “swamp ash”
On the boil: Pakistan, India tussle over basmati rice origin
Pakistan bans TikTok, citing morals. Others cite politics. Conservatives have raised questions about public decency on the Chinese-owned service, but opposition groups see an effort to stop criticism of the country’s leadership. The ban didn’t last long, though
Pakistan is heading for an IPO spree, with as many as 10 companies lining up to go public. Pakistan has been Asia's best performing stock market even without any recent listings
This year’s WIRED25: People who are making things better. The scientists, technologists, artists, and chefs who are standing between us and species collapse
Kara Swisher on why “Amy Coney Barrett’s rise is a threat to families like mine. Many of us thought gays and lesbians had won the marriage battle. Maybe not.”
Miles Taylor, a former chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security, identified himself as the anonymous author of an opinion column and book that attacked the president as amoral and reckless. Read the original op-ed here. He defended Trump’s controversial immigration policies back in the day
Former James Bond actor Sean Connery dies aged 90. See also coverage in SPIN
Facebook claims government breakup of WhatsApp & Instagram defies established law. Also, Facebook says government breakup of Instagram, WhatsApp would be ‘complete nonstarter.’ Social giant prepares defence against antitrust scrutiny from federal enforcers
Facebook prepares legal defence against breakup attempt by F.T.Cc
Facebook has released a dataset that measures how socially connected different regions are by measuring the probability that a pair of Facebook users in different geographic locations are friends with each other on the platform
Facebook bans content denying the Holocaust on its platforms. How Facebook dealt with this has been a longstanding subject of controversy
But Facebook doesn’t always enforce the lots of rules it has made. A Wall Street Journal test showed content that violated guidelines often remained
Why Facebook can’t fix itself. The platform is overrun with hate speech and disinformation. Does it actually want to solve the problem?
Facebook’s new Oversight Board is a wild new experiment in platform governance. It’ll look like the US Supreme Court — with four times as many “justices” and serving more than 10 times as many “citizens.”
Facebook prepares measures for possible election unrest. Tools include slowing the spread of certain posts and tweaking users’ news feeds
What keeps Facebook’s election security chief up at night? The social media company’s head of cybersecurity policy on “perception hacks” and what it will take to have an authentic election.
How to deal with a crisis of misinformation. False news is on the rise. We can fight the spread with a simple exercise: Slow down and be sceptical
WSJ’s Gerald F. Seib explains why America is likely headed into an election with a gender gap of historic proportions as polls show significant gender gap in support for Biden and Trump
At least 59 million US voters have cast ballots during early voting, more than 42% of the entire 2016 turnout; track data here. Republicans cut into Democrats' early voting advantage in Florida. Ten under the radar races to watch
“Please Like Me,” Trump begged. For many women, it’s way too late. The white suburban voters the president needs to carve a path to victory have turned away from him, for deeply personal reasons
The End of American Power. Trump’s re-election would usher in permanent decline
Will America tear itself apart? The Supreme Court, 2020 elections and a looming constitutional crisis. Supreme Court politics and 2020 election fears are heating up the debate over the future of the US and its founding creed
The anxious person’s guide to the 2020 election
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