New York City officials on Wednesday abruptly abandoned plans to rein in Uber, dropping a fiercely contested proposal to cap the company’s growth in its largest market.
An Uber Victory For Consumers
Category Archives: Innovation
The Disturbing State of Uber In California and France
Recent decisions in California and France threaten the continued viability of Uber’s ride-sharing service and the sharing economy it epitomizes.
Apple’s Cable Set-Top Box and Interoperability
Nearly six months before this week’s reveal of iPhone 6 and the Apple Watch, the Wall Street Journal reported that Apple was in talks with Comcast Corp. about “teaming up for a streaming-television service that would use an Apple set-top box and get special treatment on Comcast’s cables to ensure it bypasses congestion on the Web.” For content, the […]
Competition Advocacy Matters—Here’s Why and How
There’s a famous old political adage — “where you stand is where sit” (also known as Miles’ Law) — meaning basically that government policy positions are dictated more by agency imperative and institutional memory than objective consideration of the public interest. A related concept is “regulatory capture,” where administrative agencies over time become defenders of the status quo and pursue objectives more for regulated firms […]
The FTC Weighs In On Tesla’s Travails
Three high-level FTC staffers are backing Tesla in its ongoing fight to sell electric cars directly to consumers.
Tech Tuesday: Litigation, Legislation and Regulatory Protectionism
The legal process is increasingly being used by incumbent industries to thwart change with that ancient mantra of obsolescent businesses, “consumer protection.”
Four Reasons Fairsearch Is Wrong
We’ve been discussing the FTC and EU investigations of Google’s search practices for more than two years. The latest FairSearch contentions represent a transparent attempt to forestall resolution of the European process, moving the goalposts in light of the failure of their dire competitive predictions. It is time for Commissioner Almunia and the EU to close up shop, settle and move on.
Deposing Siri
Wouldn’t it be interesting if Siri, the most famous example of artificial intelligence, was deposed in litigation against Apple claiming the technology did not work as advertised?
Four Reasons Location Privacy Is A Business Issue
With recent focus on warrantless GPS tracking by government, the business community may have concluded prematurely that location privacy is of concern only to hackers and criminal enterprises. Four recent developments show that location privacy is a serious business issue, too.
War of the Worlds: The Google Settlements in America and the EU
Thirteen months after the FTC settled its antitrust investigation of Google by flatly declining to regulate the company’s search practices, the EU is poised to do just that.