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from the no-price-does-not-mean-no-cost dept.
U.S. antitrust law is uniquely devoted to a strain of economics often called “price theory.” Beginning in the 1970s, price theory came to dominate antitrust law and scholarship.
Price theory (no surprise) focuses on prices. Supposedly, price theory uses price as a synechdoche to represent all aspects of competition. But in fact, businesses compete not just on price but also on quality, innovation, branding and other product attributes.
Yet U.S. antitrust regulators and courts have traditionally focused heavily on price competition. When products are “free” (or, more accurately, “zero-price”), they simply slip under the antitrust radar.
If the SCOTUS is willing to declare that money is speech, it should be no great leap to recognize that speech can also be money. Wall Street has clearly recognized the truth in that, giving multi-billion dollar valuations to companies that are entirely predicated on reselling their users' attention. How long until American courts catch up with reality?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 04 2016, @11:49AM
So does this mean that one could bring an anti-trust case against Facebook?
(Score: 1) by Francis on Sunday September 04 2016, @04:50PM
That would imply that the courts actually care about the law. Antitrust lawsuits are extremely expensive and the judges don't seem to care much about the impact their rulings have.
Even when they do get it right, higher courts have a tendency to overturn the rulings. Just look at MS, they've been a blight on the tech sector for decades now and the one time that the DoJ got it right, a higher court overturned things.