Fiona Scott Morton a Yale University economist and former Justice Department official is advising two of the biggest names in tech, Amazon.com and Apple as they confront federal antitrust investigations, reported Bloomberg.
Scott Morton, hailed in a 2019 article in the New Republic as an “antitrust crusader,” said she began consulting for Amazon in the last year, while her work for Apple dates back several years. She said she usually discloses her clients when speaking at conferences.
The lack of disclosure on the Google and Facebook papers, she said, shouldn’t be an issue because Apple and Amazon didn’t pay her to write them. What’s more, she added, those papers didn’t focus on either Apple or Amazon.
“I work for companies that I’m comfortable are not breaking the law,” she said in an interview. “So you’re articulating what is making the market work well and how the company’s conduct is pro-competitive or efficient.”
As antitrust probes intensify, the potential for conflicts could multiply as regulators and companies hire experts who can play a crucial role in shaping cases involving claims of anti-competitive behavior.
Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google are all grappling with federal investigations. A Justice Department lawsuit against Google is likely to come this summer. The heads of all four companies are set to testify July 27 before a House panel. Facebook and Google also face state probes.
