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Submitted by Scott Cleland on Tue, 2013-05-21 18:23
What’s the impact on the Verizon appeal of the Open Internet Order of the Supreme Court’s strong reaffirmation of its Chevron deference standard, in Arlington v. FCC?
I believe Verizon is still more likely than not to prevail on the merits of its appeal, because the FCC’s Open Internet Order is so unambiguously far outside the bounds of the FCC’s statutory authority, that Chevron deference is unlikely to apply.
If the SCOTUS had not strongly reaffirmed Chevron deference, the FCC would have faced an even steeper fight in the Open Internet Order. Despite the SCOTUS decision not being particularly helpful in the specific FCC Open Internet case, it undeniably was very FCC-friendly overall. That’s because it affords the FCC more latitude to exploit the many legally-ambiguous seams of communications law to advance its various regulatory agendas in highly-targeted ways.
Submitted by Scott Cleland on Fri, 2013-05-17 15:10
Sometimes something is so off-base that a straight analysis is wholly insufficient and warrants satire.
Google's 60-page proposed remedy document -- or "Commitments to address the EU's antitrust concerns of search bias -- warrants satire and ridicule.
Google’s proposed search bias remedy is no remedy. It would be worse than the status quo.
If accepted by the EU, it would legitimize and entrench Google’s 90+% dominance of search and search advertising in Europe, and make it much harder for any semblance of competition to ever take root.
Google’s proposed search bias remedies are so preposterous one has to use metaphors, imagery and analogies to understand what is really going on and what Google is really proposing.
Submitted by Scott Cleland on Thu, 2013-05-16 14:32
Please see my latest Daily Caller op-ed: "America's private video market success" here.
- It debunks Free Press' diatribe against cable to try and promote net neutrality regulation and a ban on usage-based broadband pricing.
- It is Part 16 of my broadband Internet pricing freedom research series.
* * * * * Broadband Internet Pricing Freedom Research Series
Part 1: Netflix' Glass House Temper Tantrum Over Broadband Usage Fees
Submitted by Scott Cleland on Mon, 2013-05-13 09:05
Please see my latest Daily Caller Op-ed "Wireless Plan Innovation Benefits Consumers & Competition -- here.
- It debunks net neutrality criticism of a reported potential ESPN-wireless pricing experiment.
- It is also Part 15 of my Broadband Internet Pricing Freedom research series.
* * * * *
Broadband Internet Pricing Freedom Research Series
Part 1: Netflix' Glass House Temper Tantrum Over Broadband Usage Fees
Submitted by Scott Cleland on Wed, 2013-05-01 09:03
The EU blinked. It's obvious the EU does not want a high-profile political confrontation with Google over a search monopoly abuse enforcement action.
Last May, when the Competition authorities announced they had a preliminary Statement of Objections for four monopoly abuses against Google, the EU competition authority trumpeted their preference for a settlement over enforcement action in this case, i.e. ruling Google a search monopoly guilty of monopoly abuse that warranted a material fine. In extending their public deadlines for Google three times, and then tentatively accepting the immaterial search concessions Google proposed, it is obvious the EU bent over backwards to avoid politically confronting Google.
Submitted by admin on Fri, 2013-04-26 14:18
Ever wonder why there are so many never ending tech policy and political battles?
Why there are so many recurring:
Ever wonder why so many of the same people and entities are involved in the same tech policy and political battles over and over again?
The answer is it is an ideological struggle, but not the 20th century kind with which most people are familiar, for example like progressive vs. conservative, or republican vs. democrat. This is a new and different kind of ideological struggle between realspace and cyberspace that is unique to the 21st century and to the Internet Age.
Submitted by Scott Cleland on Mon, 2013-04-22 04:34
Competition is alive and well in the U.S. communications market.
Market forces have produced a barrage of big competitive developments in just a few weeks. Dish’s disruptive $25b bid for Sprint could offer consumers a new choice of a lower-price, faster-speed, all-wireless platform for the first time. Google’s disruptive ongoing expansion of Google Fiber from Kansas City to Austin Texas and Provo Utah signals more and new consumers could increasingly enjoy the choice of a new, much-faster, near-comprehensively-integrated broadband offering. And T-Mobile is disrupting in yet another major way with a new maverick wireless pricing model that offers no contract plans and relatively more a la carte pricing.
These developments are proof positive why competition is so far superior to regulation. Survival is a powerful motivator to disrupt, differentiate and innovate, just as the opportunity for large profit and market leadership are powerful motivators as well.
While regulators slowly fret over how they can solve yesterday’s problems by fiat or opaque subsidy, competition is automatically devising alternative solutions to today’s problems, and inevitably is working on different solutions to tomorrow’s problems.
I. Dish-Sprint
Submitted by Scott Cleland on Fri, 2013-04-19 12:28
Look at the evidence to judge for yourself if Google bamboozled the EU Competition authorities.
Simply, compare the long list of major EU concessions to Google to the short-list of minor Google concessions to the EU – made in the EU-Google settlement negotiations to resolve the investigated problem of Google’s anti-competitive search bias.
The evidence shows Google dominated these negotiations. Given that most everyone would agree that the sovereign European Union is vastly more powerful than corporate Google, and given that the EU’s competition law and enforcement process is well-known to be very tough, a logical conclusion from the upside-down outcome of these negotiations is that Google successfully bamboozled the EU competition authorities.
I. Background
Submitted by Scott Cleland on Fri, 2013-04-12 15:17
In advance of the Senate Antitrust oversight hearing for the DOJ and FTC Tuesday, please see my Daily Caller op-ed "DOJ & FTC Antitrust Report Cards" -- here -- to learn two of the big oversight questions for the hearing.
This is Part 20 in the Google Unaccountability Research Series.
***
Google Unaccountability Research Series:
Part 0: Google's Poor and Defiant Settlement Record
Part 1: Why Google Thinks It Is Above the Law
Part 2: Top Ten Untrue Google Stories
Part 3: Google's Growing Record of Obstruction of Justice
Submitted by Scott Cleland on Wed, 2013-04-10 22:00
See the abbreviation list below for the translations of the SMS text abbreviations used by EU Competition Chief Joaquin Almunia and Google Chairman Eric Schmidt in negotiating the EU-Google antitrust agreement via texting -- per reporting by the New York Times.
BFFN = Best friend for now
BFLOW = But FTC looked the other way
CIINST = Call it innovation not special treatment
CITY = Can I trust you
EPPAA = EU privacy people are angry
EPPFLYAIT = EU privacy people feel like you are ignoring them
EPPDGTJ = EU privacy people don’t get the joke
EAG = EU admits guilt
GANG = Google admits no guilt
GDFTCST = Google demands FTC special treatment
IHNLMN = I have not lost my nerve
IMFEG = Investigation must fully exonerate Google
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