Dear Readers,
It has been fifteen years since Rochet & Tirole published their influential article Platform Competition in Two-Sided Markets. The September 2018 CPI Antitrust Chronicle® features articles on today’s debates related to Platform Competition.
We are delighted to open the September Chronicle with an interview with Thomas Kramler, Head of the Digital Single Market Task Force in the European Commission’s Directorate General for Competition. Before the year closes out, we expect to also have an interview (same questions) with Bruce Hoffman, Director of the Bureau of Competition at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.
As the platform economy continues to evolve and grow, how should regulators, stakeholders, and the rest of us evolve and adapt? For instance, as one of this month’s authors points out, “[a]s economies and societies continue to be transformed by the data revolution, privacy protections will continue to be paramount.” Will other factors remain or become paramount? Will the trustbusters of tomorrow and their tools resemble those of yesteryear, or will they be a completely new breed?
We are also pleased to announce CPI’s inaugural annual conference on “Challenges to Antitrust in a changing economy” that will take place on November 9, 2018 at Harvard Law School. This event, co-organized with CCIA, aims to generate an open and cutting-edge debate on competition law and economics in the tech industry. Confirmed speakers include: Bruce Kobayashi, William Kovacic, Einer Elhauge, Hal Varian, Diana Moss, Nancy Rose, Julie Brill, Greg Ip, Jonathan Baker, Rob Atkinson, and Michael Mandel, among others. Read the full program and register free online here.
Lastly, please take the opportunity to visit the CPI website and listen to our selection of Chronicle articles in audio form. A growing number of subscribers are getting their CPI fix on the go, rather than in the office; audio is an excellent option for this!
As always, thank you to our great panel of authors.
Sincerely,
CPI Team*
*CPI thanks CCIA for their sponsorship of this issue of the Antitrust Chronicle®. Sponsoring an issue of the Chronicle entails the suggestion of a specific topic or theme for discussion in a given publication. CPI determines whether the suggestion merits a dedicated conversation, as is the case with the current issue of the Chronicle. As always, CPI takes steps to ensure that the viewpoints relevant to a balanced debate are invited to participate and that the quality of our content maintains our high standards.
