Competition policy uses economic analysis to enhance our understanding of how firm behavior affects social welfare. Scholars featured on this site consider how technology markets function, and the special issues raised by networks, platforms, interoperability, and bundling by firms like Google, Apple, and Microsoft.
US regulators have "taken a curious turn toward trying to help Google and other massive digital platforms to consolidate market power, rather than policing them." — Frank Pasquale, Professor of Law, University of Maryland
"In many ways, they are internally breaking up Facebook by limiting how they do business, how the different services interact. It's not a breakup, but it is certainly ramping up the pressure. The Commission doesn't have the power itself to go after Facebook on privacy grounds, but it has plenty of powers under competition law." — Anu Bradford, Professor of Law, Columbia University
"There's been a profound change in the tech economy, and I think one that's very dangerous for the United States' economy. Right now, what we're seeing is a lack of innovation. A lack of starts. That's why I think it's important to have a shake-up of the industry every so often." — Tim Wu, Professor of Law, Columbia University
In this opinion piece written for The Washington Post, Columbia law professor Tim Wu argues that Facebook’s acquisition of Instagram in 2012 never should have been given the okay by antitrust regulators. Professor Wu emphasizes: “It’s not too late to create a meaningful check on the power of Mark Zuckerberg’s company.”
"The merger will in fact harm consumers and the harm is significant in terms of the dollar amount." — Carl Shapiro, Professor of Economics, University of California, Berkeley
"Any way you count it, the result is a grand and easily predictable reduction in effective competition. This is what most clearly justifies Justice’s opposition to the merger." — Tim Wu, Professor of Law, Columbia University
"If the standard narrative is that because the Republicans are in town, Simons is not going to do anything, he will really surprise people." — William Kovacic, Professor of Law, George Washington University
This article tells the story of survival in the age of Facebook. "Facebook has grown at a pace and had an impact that it’s really hard to say anybody planned. It isn’t just a mere commercial platform. It’s a place that people are turning to to get their sense of what’s going on in the world. That’s a combination that should be carefully navigated. It would be awfully strange, back in the day, if the Yellow Pages rearranged themselves every other day." — Jonathan Zittrain, Professor of Law, Harvard University
"The issue of innovation is an important one. Satellite TV and cable companies face a significant challenge from Netflix. The cable TV providers are on the ropes as they face the innovators Netflix and Amazon.com." — Nicholas Economides, Professor of Economics, New York University
"This signals an active Justice Department, and that can’t be great news for a company like Facebook, which has a pretty well-known reputation for wiping out its competitors." — Tim Wu, Professor of Law, Columbia University
Select an Issue
TAP Academics
View all academics with expertise in Competition Policy and Antitrust
TAP Blog
George Washington University Law Professor and former Chair of the FTC, William Kovacic outlines the transformation happening in American antitrust policy.
February 16, 2022
View all blog posts about Competition Policy and Antitrust
Upcoming Events
Fourteenth Annual Northwestern Conference on Antitrust Economics and Competition Policy
September 16, 2022,
View all upcoming events for Competition Policy and Antitrust
Fact Sheets
“Procurement” is the process by which governments choose to obtain and buy goods and services from the private sector.
View all fact sheets about Competition Policy and Antitrust
Featured Article
One key legal question is whether data should move from A to B, or be prevented from moving from A to B. Requiring the transfer of data can be harmful in some ways and beneficial in others.
September 8, 2020
View all articles on Competition Policy and Antitrust