Brazil is broadly expected to move forward in the very near future with plans to adopt ex-ante competition regulations to govern digital platforms. Indeed, in the wake of a public consultation launched by the Ministry of Finance in early 2024, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and the administration have spent much of the past ... Lessons from the UK for Brazil’s Digital Market Strategy The post Lessons from the UK for Brazil’s Digital Market Strategy appeared first on Truth on the Mar...| Truth on the Market
A recent Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) policy paper on competition in cloud computing frames the sector as fragile, with an imminent threat of anticompetitive behavior. As the paper notes, 70-80% of the global cloud share is controlled by Microsoft, AWS (Amazon Web Services), and Google. This paints the picture of a concentrated ... OECD Cloud-Computing Competition Study Offers Solutions in Search of a Problem The post OECD Cloud-Computing Competition Study Off...| Truth on the Market
In a tense meeting room last month in Brussels, U.S. trade negotiators leaned forward and delivered a pointed warning to their European counterparts: “Europe’s digital rules? They’re on the table—if the EU digs in, your exports face consequences.” South Korea now stands on the same precipice. By moving forward with the proposed Online Platform Monopoly ... US Trade Retaliation May Be the Consequence for Imitating the EU’s Digital Rulebook| Truth on the Market
I recently explained in Forbes that U.S. trade negotiators could leverage the planned withdrawal of anticompetitive federal regulations to obtain a cutback in foreign anticompetitive market distortions (ACMDs) that harm American firms and consumers. A July 2 nonpartisan letter to senior administration officials from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), joined by senior policy scholars, ... Why the United States May Confront Nontariff Attacks Against Tech Firms The p...| Truth on the Market
The European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) has emerged as one of the most consequential pieces of digital regulation in recent years. While officially presented as pro-competition legislation designed to ensure fair and open digital markets, mounting evidence suggests the DMA functions as a de facto digital tax on American technology companies. This analysis draws ... The Digital Markets Act as an EU Digital Tax: When Compliance Costs Dwarf Regulatory Estimates The post The Digital Mark...| Truth on the Market
The Spanish government has approved BBVA’s hostile takeover bid for Banco Sabadell but as I anticipated in an earlier Truth on the Market post, it did so while imposing stringent conditions. Both banks will be required to maintain separate legal identities, management, and operations for at least three years, potentially extendable to five. These conditions ... Merger Control or Political Tool? Lessons from Spain’s Attempt to Stall the Sabadell Merger The post Merger Control or Political ...| Truth on the Market
The digital economy has made consumer data a central consideration in all kinds of consumer transactions. The digital economy “runs on data,” so to speak, although claims that data is “the new oil” fall short of the mark. Various digital services employ data to improve ad targeting, search, and artificial intelligence. In some kinds of ... Let Privacy Features Compete: A Competition Approach to Privacy Regulation| Truth on the Market
The European Commission’s just-published decision against Meta reveals a fundamental tension in EU digital regulation. In it, the Commission explicitly states it will pay no attention to the economic consequences of DMA enforcement on gatekeepers. This admission has profound implications not just for Meta, but also for other designated gatekeepers. It is a sign of ... The EU’s DMA Enforcement Against Meta Reveals a Dangerous Regulatory Philosophy The post The EU’s DMA Enforcement Agains...| Truth on the Market
Germany’s Bundeskartellamt (Federal Cartel Office, or FCO) issued a preliminary legal assessment last week suggesting that Amazon had potentially infringed both European and national rules on abuse of dominance. At issue in the investigation is Amazon’s price-control mechanisms, also known as pricing filters. The filters rely on algorithms and statistical models, particularly dynamic price caps ... Still Haven’t Found What the Bundeskartellamt Is Looking For: Thoughts on the German Amaz...| Truth on the Market
Andy, could you please tell us about your professional background? I am a law professor with an SJD degree from Northwestern University in the United States. My field of study is antitrust law and law & economics. From 2007-2010, I served as commissioner of the Taiwan Fair Trade Commission (TFTC). After that, I resumed my ... The View from Taiwan: A TOTM Q&A with Andy Chen The post The View from Taiwan: A TOTM Q&A with Andy Chen appeared first on Truth on the Market.| Truth on the Market
The Trump administration earlier this month announced a new trade agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom. This initial pact should be a harbinger of additional “win-win” American trade deals with the UK and other countries. Such agreements, besides reducing tariffs, could emphasize the mutual elimination of anticompetitive market distortions (ACMDs). Eliminating ACMDs ... New US Trade Agreements Could Grow the Economy The post New US Trade Agreements Could Grow the Eco...| Truth on the Market