DOJ Blocks Bertelsmann Merger with Simon & Schuster in Win for Authors, Readers, Editors, and Publishers

Open Markets celebrates the Department of Justice’s vote to file a civil antitrust lawsuit to block the proposed merger between Penguin Random House, a subsidiary of Bertelsmann, and Simon & Schuster.

LPE Project - Fair Competition Policy without a Fair Competition Philosophy

Legal director Sandeep Vaheesan describes the important difference between promoting fair competition versus just promoting competition.

Following Release of Stablecoins Report, Open Markets Urges Regulators to Use Existing Tools to Protect Investors and Mitigate Systemic Risks

Addressing threats to fair competition, and investors and consumers should come before facilitating the growth of private money.

Press ReleasesOpen MarketsNovember 1, 20212021, November 2021, Primary Feature

FTC Begins New Era by Restoring Common Sense Rules to Block Bad Deals

26 years later, the FTC reinstates the “Prior Approval Policy” taking back the power to restrict anticompetitive mergers.

The Nikkei - The Limits of Trustbusting Litigation

Legal director Sandeep Vaheesan writes in the Japanese news outlet, The Nikkei, about the limits of competition policy and law as it currently stands, and how to improve it.

Retail Dive - Why acquisitions lead DTC exits

Director of Enforcement Strategy Sally Hubbard discusses the relationship between acquisitions and market concentration.

ClippingsOpen MarketsOctober 25, 20212021, Mergers & Acquisitions, October 2021

The Corner Newsletter: October 22, 2021

Welcome to The Corner. In this issue, we discuss Zillow’s aggressive strategy to expand its reach in the real estate market — and how its recent acquisition is facing heightened scrutiny from the FTC.

NewslettersOpen MarketsOctober 22, 20212021, October 2021

The New York Times - Of Shots and Supply-Chain Snarls

In an opinion piece about supply chains, Paul Krugman mentions Executive Director Barry Lynn’s predictions about the dangers of centralizing manufacturing on supply-chain risks.

ClippingsBarry LynnOctober 21, 20212021, October 2021, International Systems, Barry Lynn

Chopra Order on Big Tech Payment Services Marks New Approach to Power, Privacy, and Data

Open Markets applauds the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for ordering Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Square, and PayPal to disclose information about their payment system practices.

Press ReleasesOpen MarketsOctober 21, 20212021, October 2021, Big Tech, Barry Lynn, Primary Feature, Wins

Regulators Should Use Existing Authority to Address Investor Protection and Systemic Risk Issues with Stablecoins

Open Markets urges the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets to ensure any recommendations for stablecoin regulation utilize their existing authorities and address existing investor protection, consumer protection, and systemic risk issues.

Press ReleasesOpen MarketsOctober 19, 20212021, October 2021, Big Tech, Secondary Feature

Sens. Klobuchar and Grassley Lead a Bipartisan Step Forward for Protecting People From Platform Monopolists

Open Markets applauds the introduction of the “The American Innovation and Choice Online Act.”

Press ReleasesOpen MarketsOctober 19, 20212021, Wins, October 2021, Barry Lynn, Politics, Big Tech, Secondary Feature

Vice - Looks Like Facebook Found a Way to Bypass Europe’s Privacy Rules

Open Markets adviser Johnny Ryan calls out Ireland for holding back European enforcement against Big Tech.

Neiman Lab - Higher ed and public radio are enmeshed. So what happens when the culture wars come?

Nikki Usher, senior fellow at the Center for Journalism & Liberty, writes about how public media is vulnerable to growing political interference over its operations, especially with higher education at the crossroads of the culture war.

Balls and Strikes - A Brief History of Stephen Breyer Enabling Corporate Power

Legal director Sandeep Vaheesan describes how Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer has played a key role in the rise of monopoly and oligopoly across the economy.

Washington Post - Facebook’s biggest critics say whistleblower’s ideas for regulating the tech giant aren’t enough

Senior Legal Analyst Daniel Hanley shines a light on the issues baked into Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen’s proposed solutions for neutralizing Facebook.

ClippingsDaniel HanleyOctober 8, 20212021, Daniel Hanley, October 2021, Facebook, Big Tech

The Corner Newsletter: October 8, 2021

In this issue, we take a closer look at Google’s “Privacy Sandbox” proposal to replace “cookies,” how antitrust reforms can increase the power of workers, and Rohit Chopra’s confirmation as CFPB director.

NewslettersOpen MarketsOctober 8, 20212021, October 2021, Karina Montoya

U.K. Publishers Target Google Plan to Further Concentrate Control Over Advertising

Reporter and researcher Karina Montoya authors an article about how the battle over the future of digital advertising has intensified since Google announced plans to eliminate third-party cookies in 2023.

ArticlesKarina MontoyaOctober 8, 20212021, Karina Montoya, October 2021, Google

Illinois Newsroom - Illinois professor maps how to limit misinformation on Facebook

Senior Fellow Nikki Usher is featured in an article about controlling misinformation on Facebook.

ClippingsOpen MarketsOctober 8, 20212021, October 2021, Nikki Usher, Big Tech, Center for Journalism & Liberty

Monopoly Matters