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Back to the Future (of Competition Research and Advocacy) - Truth on the Market
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced April 14 that it has “launched a public inquiry into the impact of federal regulations on competition, with the goal of identifying and reducing anticompetitive regulatory barriers.” A request for public comment (RPC) on the inquiry has also been published in the Federal Register. Bravo. The inquiry will not ... Back to the Future (of Competition Research and Advocacy)
When Do Rent Controls Help Renters? - Truth on the Market
Imagine you’re a renter in a city where housing costs are sky-high. When the city council passes a rent-control law capping rents below the market rate, it feels like a victory. Finally, some relief! Indeed, the first people to benefit are those lucky tenants whose rents are now frozen or reduced. But fast forward a ... When Do Rent Controls Help Renters?
Trump Trade Talks Plus Deregulation Could Spur Faster Economic Growth - Truth on the Market
Recent headlines about short-term swings in tariffs and stock-market volatility make good journalistic copy, but they ignore a much bigger story. Possible deregulatory improvements and reductions in international trade barriers have the potential to usher in a period of faster economic growth that could benefit all Americans. Two recent initiatives instituted by President Donald Trump ... Trump Trade Talks Plus Deregulation Could Spur Faster Economic Growth
A First Take on the European Commission's DMA Decision Against Meta - Truth on the Market
The European Commission issued a significant noncompliance decision earlier today, finding the “consent or pay” model that Meta implemented from March 2024 to November 2024 for its Facebook and Instagram services breached key obligations imposed on designated gatekeepers under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Accompanied by a €200 million fine, the decision concluded that Meta’s ... A First Take on the European Commission’s DMA Decision Against Meta
New York’s Failed Economic Case for Price-Gouging Enforcement - Truth on the Market
A major winter storm across northern New York State in January 1998 snapped power lines and left thousands without electricity, as temperatures plunged. In the small town of Chazy, just south of the Canadian border, a local hardware store stepped up. Chazy Hardware had just one generator on hand, but it managed to locate 54 ... New York’s Failed Economic Case for Price-Gouging Enforcement
President Trump Takes Aim at Anticompetitive Regulatory Barriers - Truth on the Market
Anticompetitive regulatory distortions are a major drag on the U.S. economy. President Donald Trump’s April 9 “Executive Order on Reducing Anti-Competitive Regulatory Barriers” has the potential to drive dramatic U.S. economic growth. Implementation of the executive order may be expected to face legal challenges and opposition from special interests who benefit from the status quo. A substantial ... President Trump Takes Aim at Anticompetitive Regulatory Barriers
The FTC’s Zombie Antitrust Action Against Meta Continues to Lurch Forward - Truth on the Market
FTC v. Meta Platforms Inc. has gone to court, and trial is just underway in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alleges that Meta is currently, in 2025, engaged in monopolization in violation of Section 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act by dint of having acquired Instagram ... The FTC’s Zombie Antitrust Action Against Meta Continues to Lurch Forward
Card-Fee Bills Would Benefit Big-Box Retailers but Harm Small Merchants - Truth on the Market
Texas’ House and Senate are considering legislation to regulate payment-card transactions, with bills that proponents claim would save millions of dollars for merchants and consumers. The evidence, however, suggests that the benefits would accrue mostly to big-box stores, while smaller merchants and consumers will both suffer. H.B. 4061 and S.B. 2056 would prohibit card-issuing banks ... Card-Fee Bills Would Benefit Big-Box Retailers but Harm Small Merchants
American Industrial Policy Should Start with No More Self-Inflicted Tax Wounds - Truth on the Market
U.S. industrial-policy efforts frequently undermine themselves through counterproductive tax regulations, creating a paradox that hinders genuine investment and economic growth. Policymakers have committed substantial resources and political capital toward reshoring domestic manufacturing, upgrading national infrastructure, and enhancing American economic competitiveness. Indeed, these goals have been central to the Trump administration’s stated economic priorities. Yet despite ... American Industrial Policy Should Start with No More Self-Inflicted Tax Wounds
Trump Tariffs in a Broader Policy Context - Truth on the Market
The possible ramifications of President Donald Trump’s tariffs are drawing headlines. Tariffs are a linchpin in the expansive Trump “America First Trade Policy” that aims to reshape U.S. trade relations. Even more broadly, other Trump administration initiatives—including tax, energy, and regulatory policies—also will have a major impact on American economic performance. The economic case for implementing those ... Trump Tariffs in a Broader Policy Context
Steel Mergers, Tariffs, and US Competitiveness - Truth on the Market
The Trump administration is reported to be taking a second look at the proposed acquisition of U.S. Steel by Japan’s largest steelmaker, Nippon Steel. Approval of this merger, which had been blocked in January by the Biden administration, could help enhance the efficiency and competitive vitality of a major player in the strategically important American ... Steel Mergers, Tariffs, and US Competitiveness
Network Effects in FTC v Meta - Truth on the Market
The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) ongoing antitrust case against Meta has brought network effects into the spotlight, as the agency’s complaint and opening statement both lean heavily on networks as a source of competitive harm. But the commission’s arguments fundamentally misunderstand how network effects interact with competition in digital markets. Far from being solely anticompetitive ... Network Effects in FTC v Meta
ICLE's Comments, Comments, Comments Re: Delete, Delete, Delete - Truth on the Market
For too long, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has operated under a regulatory framework rooted in the Communications Act of 1934, written in an era when rotary phones and radio broadcasts dominated. This simply doesn’t cut it in 2025. The communications world of today bears little resemblance to that of 1994, much less 1934. The ... ICLE’s Comments, Comments, Comments Re: Delete, Delete, Delete
From A to Y: Antitrust Notes from the ABA and Y Combinator - Truth on the Market
April 4 marked the end of a notable week in global competition policy. The American Bar Association’s (ABA) Antitrust Section held its annual spring meeting, while Y Combinator hosted a virtual “Little Tech Competition Summit.” At the same time, Congress held two competition hearings, the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) hosted an event on competition and ... From A to Y: Antitrust Notes from the ABA and Y Combinator
Perspectives on Industrial Policy: An Interview with Reiko Aoki - Truth on the Market
Recently, we’ve seen renewed global interest in industrial policy. From your perspective, what are some of the key drivers behind this resurgence? And how does it differ from previous industrial-policy approaches, particularly in Japan? Today’s industrial policies are closely tied to security concerns. National security, in particular, has always required some form of government coordination, ... Perspectives on Industrial Policy: An Interview with Reiko Aoki
DOJ Task Force Takes Aim at Anticompetitive Regulations - Truth on the Market
A key pillar of the second Trump administration’s economic program is regulatory reform. The U.S. Justice Department’s (DOJ) newly launched Anticompetitive Regulations Task Force is a positive first step toward unraveling harmful anticompetitive federal and state regulations that slow economic growth and harm American families. The task force will, nevertheless, face serious challenges. An administration ... DOJ Task Force Takes Aim at Anticompetitive Regulations
Firing Independent Agency Leaders – Good Law, Sound Policy - Truth on the Market
President Donald Trump dismissed Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Slaughter last month as members of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), citing his authority under Article II of the U.S. Constitution. The two former commissioners responded that the dismissals were illegal and that they would sue for reinstatement. It is likely that, after all the litigation dust ... Firing Independent Agency Leaders – Good Law, Sound Policy
The Android Auto Decision and the European Antitrust Paradox - Truth on the Market
The European Court of Justice’s (ECJ) Android Auto judgment, delivered in late February, could mark a radical shift in how courts interpret the European Union’s essential-facilities doctrine, as well as the legal standard applied to “refusal to deal” cases. My colleague Giuseppe Colangelo has a great working paper analyzing the decision and its potential consequences. ... The Android Auto Decision and the European Antitrust Paradox
Termination Tuesday: A Quasi-Comprehensive, Quasi-Definitive Discussion of the FTC and Humphrey’s Executor - Truth on the Market
Author’s Note: Sometimes “quasi” means “sort of” or, as Merriam-Webster’s would have it, “having some resemblance usually by possession of certain attributes.” And sometimes, “some resemblance” means “not very much.” On March 18, President Donald Trump fired—or purported to fire—the two Democratic members of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC): Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Slaughter. Bedoya ... Termination Tuesday: A Quasi-Comprehensive, Quasi-Definitive Discussion of the FTC and Humphrey’s Executor
Stop Saying a Value-Added Tax Is an Export Subsidy - Truth on the Market
In a recent Financial Times opinion piece, Jason Cummins (who holds a Ph.D. in economics from Columbia University) argued that the Trump administration should impose a 25% tariff on European goods to offset an “unfair advantage” from Europe’s value-added tax (VAT) system. According to Cummins, European exporters like BMW Group enjoy an “implicit subsidy” when they ... Stop Saying a Value-Added Tax Is an Export Subsidy
Capital One/Discover Deal: Rumored Concerns Lack Substance - Truth on the Market
The proposed merger of Capital One Financial Corp. and Discover Financial Services Inc. would appear to be moving toward completion, as more than 99% of the companies’ shareholders voted last month to approve the $35.3 billion deal. According to at least one report, however, anonymous sources in the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) suggest the agency ... Capital One/Discover Deal: Rumored Concerns Lack Substance
Google and Apple Determinations Show How Little Users Matter Under the DMA - Truth on the Market
Following up the initial implementation of the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), which included such “successes” as the first porn app on iOS and diverting revenues away from hotels to online intermediaries, last week’s European Commission determinations regarding Alphabet and Apple once again demonstrate that the direct interests of users—including their privacy and security—remain an ... Google and Apple Determinations Show How Little Users Matter Under the DMA
The FTC Firings Are About Something Bigger than Policy or Personnel - Truth on the Market
I practiced antitrust law for almost five decades. For most of that time, if someone asked what I did, I would have to explain what the word “antitrust” meant. Today, by contrast, antitrust is very much in the news, driven in the recent past by the aggressive actions and even more aggressive rhetoric of the ... The FTC Firings Are About Something Bigger than Policy or Personnel
FTC Should Focus More Heavily on Fraudsters - Truth on the Market
The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) two-fold mission is “[p]rotecting the public from deceptive or unfair business practices [consumer protection] and from unfair methods of competition [antitrust] through law enforcement, advocacy, research, and education.” To maximize its benefits to the American public, the FTC should focus its consumer-protection enforcement on hardcore fraud. In light of resource ... FTC Should Focus More Heavily on Fraudsters
The View from Brazil: A TOTM Q&A with Gustavo Augusto Freitas de Lima - Truth on the Market
Gustavo, could you please tell us a bit about yourself and your professional background? I’m a law practitioner with a master’s degree in law and public policy, specializing in constitutional and administrative law. I served as a federal attorney and litigator before the Brazilian Supreme Court and was appointed by the attorney general as the ... The View from Brazil: A TOTM Q&A with Gustavo Augusto Freitas de Lima
Competition Confusion in the UK - Truth on the Market
UK Member of Parliament (former Conservative Party Cabinet Minister) Kit Malthouse published an essay in CapX earlier this month titled “We need a competition revolution.” I, of course, completely agree that competition is vitally important to any economy, and the UK has been struggling with productivity and growth challenges that may be linked to competition ... Competition Confusion in the UK
Rearranging Deck Chairs on the Titanic of Latin American Competition Policy - Truth on the Market
Competition authorities and policymakers around the world have devoted a growing proportion of their time and resources over the last decade to digital markets. Typically, this attention has been accompanied by vocal antipathy toward large digital platforms, as regulators and lawmakers invoke the need to “rein in digital monopolies” that allegedly cause a broad array ... Rearranging Deck Chairs on the Titanic of Latin American Competition Policy
What Changes Might, and Should, a New FTC Majority Bring? - Truth on the Market
The question on everyone’s mind—that is, for those in antitrust law and economics, the question on everyone’s mind that’s about antitrust—is this: Where do we go from here? As it happens, the International Center for Law & Economics (ICLE) recently hosted a panel discussion on precisely that question. ICLE’s Geoff Manne moderated an excellent discussion ... What Changes Might, and Should, a New FTC Majority Bring?
Prices Are Signals (and Politicians Keep Shooting the Messenger) - Truth on the Market
Back in November, I outlined eight economic insights that matter for policy. I promised to explain them one by one. It’s taken me months to get to that—not because I forgot, but because this concept is a central part of the book I’m working on. I wanted to make sure I had all the parts lined up, ... Prices Are Signals (and Politicians Keep Shooting the Messenger)
The Law & Economics of Online Age Verification and Parental Consent: Device-Filtering Edition - Truth on the Market
As patient observers continue to await the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton, which many hope will clarify the constitutionality of online age-verification regulations, the debate over how to best protect children online, given the strictures of the First Amendment, continues to evolve. While several states have attempted to impose age-verification ... The Law & Economics of Online Age Verification and Parental Consent: Device-Filtering Edition
Is Brazil’s Digital Markets Proposal Based on Genuine Consensus or Unproven Narrative? - Truth on the Market
A popular narrative has emerged in Brazil in recent years about the “genuine consensus” supporting the need for more stringent regulation of digital markets. This narrative has been fueled by a growing number of cases of alleged anticompetitive conduct by so-called “global mega-corporations,” including the Mercado Livre/Apple case and the more recent Meta/Apple case. The ... Is Brazil’s Digital Markets Proposal Based on Genuine Consensus or Unproven Narrative?
Credit-Card Price Controls Are Counter Productive - Truth on the Market
U.S. Reps. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) have introduced legislation that would cap credit-card interest rates at 10%, with the claim that it would help poorer Americans. Unfortunately, both economic theory and centuries of evidence demonstrate that the effect would be quite the opposite. When the government sets a ceiling on the ... Credit-Card Price Controls Are Counter Productive
US-UK Trade Agreement Has Big Pro-Growth Potential - Truth on the Market
A prospective trade deal between the United States and the United Kingdom could, if handled correctly, be a catalyst to spur global economic growth through enhanced trade and regulatory reform. This would require recognition by other major trading nations of the advantages of removing regulatory obstacles to trade liberalization. Background A Feb. 27 White House ... US-UK Trade Agreement Has Big Pro-Growth Potential
Digital Platforms Aren’t Telecoms and Their Regulations Shouldn’t Rhyme - Truth on the Market
Modern tech markets share several key economic characteristics with the telecommunications markets of the recent past, a new working paper from Georgetown Law’s Jonathan Nuechterlein and Howard Shelanski argues. And while telecom regulators have over the years sought to address these key issues of network effects, economies of scale, and switching costs through various interventions, ... Digital Platforms Aren’t Telecoms and Their Regulations Shouldn’t Rhyme
Can Antitrust Promote Competitiveness? - Truth on the Market
The major Western industrialized nations have experienced dramatically slower economic growth in recent decades. This slowdown has been particularly pronounced in the EU, though the United States has suffered, as well. Regulatory, tax, trade, and energy policy reforms that reduce market distortions and provide incentives for investment, production, and innovation could substantially address this problem. Recalibrating antitrust law (called ... Can Antitrust Promote Competitiveness?
Lutnick’s BEAD Pivot: Progress Through Pragmatism - Truth on the Market
The U.S. Commerce Department plans to revamp the $42 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program with a shift toward a more technology-neutral approach, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced yesterday, adding that his department is also exploring ways to cut the program’s red tape. Lutnick’s announcement follows criticisms of BEAD’s initial focus on fiber-optic ... Lutnick’s BEAD Pivot: Progress Through Pragmatism
Beyond Market Definition: Key Economic Concepts in FTC v Amazon - Truth on the Market
The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) antitrust suit against Amazon, originally filed in October 2023, is scheduled for trial in October 2026. While we’ve previously explored the market-definition questions at the center of this case, several other economic concepts will be equally important in determining whether Amazon has violated antitrust laws. Ahead of a scheduled March ... Beyond Market Definition: Key Economic Concepts in FTC v Amazon
Media-Ownership Regulations in a Streaming World: Time to Change the Channel - Truth on the Market
Today’s media landscape bears little resemblance to the one that existed when most existing broadcast and cable regulations were created. While consumers increasingly access video content through streaming platforms subject to minimal oversight, legacy media providers continue to operate under restrictive regulatory frameworks designed for a bygone era. This regulatory asymmetry creates economic inefficiencies and ... Media-Ownership Regulations in a Streaming World: Time to Change the Channel
Avoiding Misguided Remedies in the Google Search Antitrust Case - Truth on the Market
In his August 2024 ruling in the Google Search antitrust litigation, U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta found that Google’s default-distribution agreements—through which the company paid Apple, Mozilla, and others to make Google the preloaded search engine—were exclusionary under Section 2 of the Sherman Act. The court’s rationale focused on “default bias” and scale effects; ... Avoiding Misguided Remedies in the Google Search Antitrust Case
Market Definition in FTC v. Amazon: A Crucial Battleground - Truth on the Market
The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) antitrust suit against Amazon, originally filed in October 2023, is scheduled for trial in October 2026. In the meantime, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington has scheduled a March 7 “economics day” hearing to focus on fundamental economic concepts that will shape the case—including the crucial ... Market Definition in FTC v. Amazon: A Crucial Battleground