Lazar Radic
4,283 posts
Lazar Radic
@laz_radic
Ass’t Prof of Law @ielawschool | Senior Scholar for Competition Policy @laweconcenter | PhD @eui_law | Competition, Digital Regulation, Political Philosophy
- The DOJ complaint against Apple filed yesterday has led me to think, once again, about the increasing chasm that exists between antitrust theory and basic common sense & logic. I think this dissonance is getting worse and worse, to the point of mutual exclusion. 1/12
- 1/ My latest op-ed about in @ET_Edge about why India should question, rather than reflexively import, Europe's digital competition regulation strategy. Tl;dr in 🧵 etedge-insights.com/india-should-q…
- Ironically, Fortnite itself operates a tightly controlled ecosystem: - Only Epic can sell items and currency (V-Bucks) - player-to-player trade isn’t allowed - 3rd party sales are banned - Creators can make maps—but epic controls monetization and exposure #Freefortnite?NO FEES on web transactions. Game over for the Apple Tax. Apple’s 15-30% junk fees are now just as dead here in the United States of America as they are in Europe under the Digital Markets Act. Unlawful here, unlawful there. 4 years 4 months 17 days.
- But it should really worry everyone. It took me a while to see through the thick smokescreen of rhetoric, virtue signalling and contrived theory to realize that, more often than not, people who dislike free markets just dislike freedom.
- From the MCU to the DCU, LOTR, MonsterVerse, Walking Dead, GOT, Star Wars - cinematic universes are the new hot trend in tv and cinema. Enjoyable as they may seem, CUs create serious problems of consumer lock-in. Here’s how antitrust authorities should step in.
- Replying to @laz_radicWhat worries me aren't a couple of contrived cases brought by unhinged regulators at either side of the Atlantic, but that this marks a much broader move towards a centrally-administered economy where choices are made by anointed regulators, rather than by consumers. 3/12
- Replying to @laz_radicHere's where I'm coming from: what I have always viewed as a modest tool for correcting blatant anticompetitive conduct is increasingly being wielded as a weapon to redraw minute product design choices, redesign markets, and pistol whip companies for political gain. 2/12
- Te la tienes que poner para entre en bares y restaurantes, pero nada más sentarte te la puedes quitar. Y luego volvertela a poner para ir al baño. Eso sí, fuera hay que llevarla siempre. Menos si fumas. Un teatro absurdo.
- Replying to @laz_radicIf I opened a chain or restaurants that became the most popular in the world and everybody only wanted to eat there, would I then have a duty to sell competitors' food and drinks so as to not "exclude" them? Would I have to serve the DOJ's favorite dishes? 6/12
- Replying to @laz_radicAnd, to be clear, I am aware that the DOJ is saying that Apple is maintaining its iPhone market position thanks to anticompetitive practices but, quite frankly, discounting the possibility that users simply PREFER the iPhone in this day & age is ludicrous to me. 7/12
- Replying to @laz_radicTake this case. A lot of it doesn't make sense to me not only as an antitrust, but as a layperson. For starters, why would the iPhone even have to be compatible with third-party products or ensure that their functionality is up to any standard - let alone the *highest* ? 5/12
- Draghi: EU’s regulatory stance towards tech co’s hinders innovation. EU now has over 100 tech-focused laws & over 270 regulators active in the digital space. Many laws take a precautionary approach, dictating business practices ex ante. We’ve been saying this for years. A 🧵
