Category: Director’s Take
Social media content moderation has stirred controversies for a number of years. “Fake news” on social media has been decried as a threat to democracy. Politicians pressured social media companies in the run-up to the 2020 election, and cries of misinformation have been frequent in the policy debate over COVID-19. Concerns with political bias by [...]
It’s hard to see who benefits from the European Commission’s (EC) latest attack on Meta. Certainly not consumers. In mid-December 2022, the EC informed Meta of the commission’s “preliminary view that the company breached EU antitrust rules by distorting competition in the markets for online classified ads.” If the EC finds Meta guilty, Meta can [...]
Like you, I use multiple means for receiving and sharing information. In the past week, I’ve used my computers, smartphone, other screens, and old-fashioned in-person human interaction to communicate with tech and energy consultants, business executives, farmers, elected officials, scholars, and even artificial intelligence robots. I live in these multiple channels to have rich relationships, [...]
In March and November of 2021, Congress passed laws providing about $75 billion to expand broadband in areas of the US that either do not have it or have it inadequately, in Congress’s view. The $75 billion is to be spent over the next few years through numerous programs involving the National Telecommunications and Information [...]
I wish I could confidently say that economics and law will drive antitrust in 2023, but I cannot. Tech antitrust cases pursued in the US and Europe in 2021 and 2022 have been poorly conceived and built on weak factual and economic foundations. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) leadership is seeking to turn the agency away [...]