Weak antitrust enforcement set the stage for Facebook and Google to extract the fruits of publishers’ labor. We won’t be able to save journalism and solve our disinformation problem unless we weaken monopolies’ power.
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Algorithms and AI Are Radically Changing Insurance. Regulators Are Behind the Curve
The growing use of artificial intelligence to price insurance could erode basic legal protections built into the law to protect both individuals and the insurance market. To prevent discrimination and ensure fairness, regulators must begin to develop new capacities and tools.
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Protecting the Independence and Integrity of Research: Introducing the Academic Capture Warning System
Inappropriate financial donor influence at institutions of higher education appears to be on the rise and risks eroding public trust in academic research. In order to defend academic freedom and institutional independence, we have decided to create a new database to document clear violations of well-accepted norms involving financial donations.
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Designating Tech Platforms as “Information Fiduciaries” Would Do Little to Address the Source of Their Power
The notion that Facebook, Google, and Twitter should be assigned fiduciary duties toward their end users has gained broad support in recent years. However, this proposed framework invites policy misfires since it fails to grapple with the structural dimensions of tech platforms’ power.
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Did Facebook and Google “Blackmail” EU Experts to Avoid Discussing Their Market Power?
A new report by the journalist network Investigate Europe claims representatives of Facebook and Google pressured members of an EU working group on fake news to drop proposals that would have called for an examination of the role played by tech platforms’ business models and market power in the spread of disinformation online.
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Study: Political Connections Lower Companies’ Tax Rates and Risk of Being Audited
How does the revolving door between Congress and corporate America affect the enforcement of tax policy? A new study examines how tax rates change when firms hire former members of Congress, finding that companies’ tax bills and the probability of being audited decrease markedly when they hire a former legislator.
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When American Capitalism Meant Equality
Americans used to have a relatively egalitarian view of markets. How did they come to accept extreme inequality as an innate part of their economic system? At the heart of this change is a radical shift in the meaning of American capitalism itself.
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How to Mitigate the Political Impacts of Social Media and Digital Platform Concentration
Ahead of its annual conference on Digital Platforms, Markets and Democracy, the Stigler Center formed a committee to produce independent white papers that will inform policymakers on how to address the political and economic issues raised by tech platforms. In preparation for the conference, we are publishing the executive summary of each preliminary report.
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The Political Footprint of Big Tech in Five Easy Charts
Big tech firms have been active in Washington since the early days of the Microsoft antitrust case, but in recent years they have increased their political spending, allowing us to get a sense of the scope of their influence.
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Market Concentration, Regulation, and Europe´s Quest for a New Industrial Policy
Weakening competition policy in Europe risks creating monopolies rather than industrial champions.
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Debunking Deregulation: Bank Credit Guidance and Productive Investment
Deregulated banking in rich countries delivers more “investment” in speculative asset markets, not productive businesses.
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When We Outsource Privacy Compliance, We May Undermine Privacy Protection
Privacy law is currently being shaped and implemented by a new industry of third-party tech vendors. These companies code their own interpretations of privacy laws into the designs of their products, but many are doing so without legal expertise.
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