Less ranting, more links
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Hi,
Many of you probably have thought that my life mission is just ranting with beautiful metaphors. Here are some reading suggestions with what I liked from antitrust recently:
Commissioner Victor Fernandes outlined a taxonomy of institutional options to regulate “digital platforms”. More descriptive than argumentative, but interesting anyway.
Jorge Padilla issued a new paper on “Neoclassical Competition Policy”. Here is also a thread discussing it by Anouk van der Veer.
Dirk Auer's thread on why theories of harm regarding Microsoft / Activision deal are flawed.
FTC issued the new policy statement on Unfair Methods of Competition - Lina Khan wants to be a Green Lantern. See also a thread by Joshua Wright on the matter, and Commissioner Christine Wilson's dissent.
Pablo Ibanez Colomo's comments on the Android case (part I, part II). Both have questions that are applicable to CADE’s rulings on dominance cases, and indicate how far we are from asking and answering those questions.
Economic Forces on why firms merge. I think this topic is frequently overlooked by antitrust practicioners, usually focused on market power explanations.
Law 14,470/22 on antitrust private enforcement in Brazil has been enacted. Actually, I don’t have any opinion on this… does it matter?
Draft Bill 2,768/22, proposing to grant Brazilian Telecom Agency (ANATEL) authority to regulate “digital platforms” on competitive grounds. The Draft Bill is strange in some ways:
The cost of doing business in Brazil is huge, and our tech scene is nascent, so we should not impair entrepreneurs without evidence of real competitive issues - the Draft Bill does not present such evidence;
Also, there is no evidence that the obligations to be assumed by “gatekeepers” solve those issues - after all, they don’t;
CADE is already targeting international and Brazilian tech companies (e.g., Google cases, iFood cases, Gympass and ClickBus settlements, the intense scrutiny of Microsoft / Activision and Stone / Linx deals, the probe on tech deals by “big techs”);
ANATEL seems to be ill-suited to regulate markets on competitive grounds ex ante, specially markets unrelated to its original mandate.
So, this is it. I tried not to sound so angry, but that's my secret, Captain…
See you soon.
Danny
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