J. Tamayo, here.
Sunday, November 02, 2025
Saturday, November 01, 2025
Google dessine le monde : faut-il s’inquiéter ? Cartographie, pouvoir et dépendance numérique
Avec Sébastien Soriano (!), ici.
Data Sharing Guidelines
ACM, here.
[Very useful also for teaching purposes! We worked extensively on the Data Act this semester - a bit too late for us though, we have since moved to other topics]
Friday, October 31, 2025
The "end of capitalism” or, rather, an intensification of capitalistic tendencies?
Ask Tommaso Valletti and others, here.
"Ordinary folk in the streets of London" at 16:00 totally impressive.
Thursday, October 30, 2025
International Criminal Court to ditch Microsoft Office for European open source alternative
Euractiv, here.
[Added value: no annoying, unsolicited "AI integration"]
Wednesday, October 29, 2025
Largest study of its kind shows AI assistants misrepresent news content 45% of the time – regardless of language or territory
BBC, here.
[Disclosure: my better half worked 20+ y. for the EBU]
Tuesday, October 28, 2025
Monday, October 27, 2025
Knowledge, technology, and growth: Joel Mokyr, Nobel laureate
CEPR, here.
Why they haven't matched him with a 'formal economist' or two dealing with innovation/knowledge for real (such as evolutionary economics), I wonder...
Unlocking contestability and fairness in cloud and AI: A Review of the Digital Markets Act
Article 19, here (honoured that I could contribute to this).
Bravi Aussies, what about our EU and national 'enforcers'?
Reuters, here.
A topic for the next DMA High Level Group too?
Saturday, October 25, 2025
Friday, October 24, 2025
Thursday, October 23, 2025
Wednesday, October 22, 2025
Monday, October 20, 2025
Tuesday, October 14, 2025
Monday, October 13, 2025
Sunday, October 12, 2025
Antitrust Law and Oligarchy: The Intersection of Markets, Democracy, and Power
Here.
Timing was, well, bad (into Friday evening my time, European after all and cherish my off-work time) - followed 1/3 of it and was very stimulating: hopefully there'll be a recording soon.
AI Acquihires: Competition Risks, Talent Battles and Economic Spillovers
 |
| https://cartography-of-generative-ai.net/ |
CEPR, here.
I particularly appreciated Jonathan Kanter's opening remark, which subtly questioned part of the very premise of the webinar: perhaps what we now need less are abstract theoretical models, and rather more empirical grounding. Even those participants steeped in theory conceded that the empirical dimension has been somewhat lacking.
Secondly, the Commission’s representative made a valuable point: we should move beyond our preoccupation with “killer acquisitions” and “acquihires” to examine broader structural trends at the "wholesale" level. In particular, attention should turn to the emerging web of quasi-trusts formed through cross-investments etc. among major players. This evolving network of reciprocal stakes has become almost too intricate to trace.
Finally, my Students and I suggest that we already look closely at how these firms are positioning themselves also downstream. Google, for instance, is carving out a strong presence in the market for AI-based "learning/curiosity' applications, notably in education. Thus, in class we recently debated how long it may take before Notebook LM becomes enshittified. How can/should the DMA help in this respect?
Japan’s Agile AI Governance in Action: Fostering a Global Nexus Through Pluralistic Interoperability
CSIS, here.
"Whereas the European Union positions AI strictly as a human tool and thus perceives a risk in AI evaluating humans, Japan is more accepting of a horizontal relationship between humans and AI" where would you prefer to live?
Friday, October 10, 2025
Thursday, October 09, 2025
Fusionskontrolle im Wandel Neue Instrumente und veränderte Rahmenbedingungen?
Arbeitskreis Kartellrecht, hier.
OpenAI, unhappy with Judge Mehta's remedies (and much more?), comes to the EU and meets the Commission
Bloomberg, here.
OpenAI here ("A US federal court last fall condemned Google’s illegal search monopoly, and will soon issue a decision on how to remediate that long-standing monopoly").
I asked John Sallet about missed remedies and impact on GenAI yesterday at this event
Listen to him at a previous event here,
Wednesday, October 08, 2025
How to Overturn an Oligarchy
M. Stoller, here.
On this side of the Atlantic, the CMA: "It is plausible that to the extent Activision content is
added to Game Pass, the price of Game Pass subscriptions may increase
commensurately and therefore the purported benefit from the Merger may not
ultimately accrue to UK consumers to the extent claimed, or even at all" - so: price increase for UK consumers ok, because of added Activision content?
Tuesday, October 07, 2025
2025 Lear Conference: Videos uploaded
Here.
Teaching material à gogo for your classes, thank you Paolo!
Monday, October 06, 2025
Action brought on 4 July 2025 – Meta Platforms v Commission (Case T-435/25)
Here.
I'd love to intervene 😊
Saturday, October 04, 2025
Coordination and Power
F. Gernone, here.
This is a very basic AI generated video overview produced by Notebook LM - potentially lowering your barriers to entry (these days, experimenting using it with my Students and also with you, dear Wavesblog Readers). The paper offers antitrust folks still reliant on IO economics a different and original lens through which to view things — and that, in itself, is already something decidedly worthwhile!
Friday, October 03, 2025
Thursday, October 02, 2025
Jon Leibowitz and the FTC's role during the early Google Era
The Monopoly Report, here.
[Watchers, basically...]
Wednesday, October 01, 2025
Tuesday, September 30, 2025
The Economics of the DMA: Insights from the European Commission’s Expert Workshop
SCIDA, here.
[Disclosure: I submitted an evol econ paper to the conf but it was turned down - it happens, cheer up - soon in ORDO; a very friendly lawyer was kind enough to describe the paper as groundbreaking - sure it isn't but I had fun writing it!]
Monday, September 29, 2025
A Proposed Framework for a "Buy European" Regulation of Strategic Digital Procurement
Eurostack, here.
It's more regulation ;-)
Microsoft looks to build AI marketplace for publishers
Axios, here.
Big Tech addressing a market failure? What about dual roles?
Nvidia's $100 billion OpenAI play raises big antitrust issues
Reuters, here.
I remember a time when these were the topics discussed in the EU too...
Sunday, September 28, 2025
Saturday, September 27, 2025
Friday, September 26, 2025
Thursday, September 25, 2025
Wednesday, September 24, 2025
Tuesday, September 23, 2025
Appraising the Google Search Antitrust Remedies
E. Hovenkamp, D. Melamed, here.
Even moderate "traditionalists" are unhappy...
DMA: Apple's (first 5) waiver requests turned down, more to come?
EC, decision here.
Anything in the DMA preventing the EC from being flooded by Apple's waiver requests :-)?
How AI startups are fueling Google’s booming cloud business
TechCrunch, here.
N.B. "Neither Lovable nor Windsurf have signed a preferred cloud provider agreement"
Why oh why this clarification ;-)?
Monday, September 22, 2025
Saturday, September 20, 2025
Thursday, September 18, 2025
Google brings Gemini in Chrome to US users, unveils agentic browsing capabilities, and more
TechCrunch, here
You had one job. Judge Mehta (actually, three): to fix the online search market.
Wednesday, September 17, 2025
Microsoft and Google Under Scanner For Clubbing AI with office suite in India!
Financial Express, here.
Tuesday, September 16, 2025
Monday, September 15, 2025
Sunday, September 14, 2025
International Competition Law: My Syllabus, Unbound
Course Description
Competition policy has long been regarded as an essential framework for any economy based on market exchange. Its logic is not confined to capitalist systems; rather, it establishes the conditions under which markets can function at all. Traces of such principles can already be discerned in the Roman world two millennia ago, anticipating many features of modern regimes. In recent years, competition has also been valued as a mechanism for stimulating innovation across a wide range of fields, extending far beyond its important role in driving price rivalry.
Unlike other areas of law, there has never been a codified body of international competition law. Yet practice has always carried a strong cross-border dimension. The case of Google in Europe is emblematic: multiple abuses of a dominant position by a U.S. company not only harmed European consumers but also affected European firms, as well as other companies operating within the EU. Many of the latter were themselves U.S. firms.
Traditionally, transatlantic cooperation between the European Union and the United States provided an anchor for international enforcement. These two jurisdictions have also been at the origin of several international initiatives in the field, most notably the creation and promotion of the International Competition Network. The OECD, though a more limited “club” of states, has likewise played an influential role in shaping cross-jurisdictional competition policy.
In recent months, however, the pace of history has accelerated. Established alliances have weakened, autocracies have flourished, and new partnerships among democratic blocs are bound to shape global competition policy in novel ways.
This course begins with a brief historical excursus before moving swiftly to the current order. The beginning of modern legislation in the field of competition policy is usually identified with the enactment of the Sherman Act in the United States in 1890, often regarded as the foundational statement of modern antitrust principles. These principles directly influenced the provisions of the Treaty of Rome, which founded the European Economic Community in the late 1950s. Competition was enshrined there into core legal provisions, as it was seen as an important tool to achieve the European single market—a pivotal project, all of which was to be based firmly on the rule of law.
In the closing decades of the twentieth century, competition policy spread widely, with antitrust legislation being adopted in almost every jurisdiction, including China. Yet rather than being strengthened, it often lost force under the prevailing neoliberal ideology. That system rested on a stylised belief that markets tended to function well on their own, requiring only minimal intervention in cases of market failure. The result was a competition policy that became hesitant, overly cautious, and in many respects ineffective.
Today, however, we are entering a post-neoliberal phase. This shift poses new challenges for competition policy, which must be re-imagined and made more effective in order to confront the multiplication of monopolies, particularly in key sectors such as digital technologies and global platforms.
The course will adopt a pragmatic, case-based approach, relying on inductive reasoning rather than abstract theory. From the outset, students will be actively engaged with leading cases and encouraged to draw broader lessons from them. Class sessions will provide ample opportunity for discussion and group work. The material provided will focus on case analysis and critical reflection, always with an eye to the broader context of profound change. What has been done in the past may prove of limited use for the future, and it is precisely this transition that the course aims to address.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
- Understand what competition policy is and how it is designed to shape the functioning of a market economy.
- Recognise how the principles of competition policy are being transformed in light of the digital economy, the growing role of data as a source of value, and the rise of AI.
- Apply these principles to future-oriented scenarios, whether from the perspective of a business, a policy-making role, or a consultancy context.
- Use competition policy concepts in a strategic way, linking theory to practical challenges.
- Identify avenues for further study and research in competition law and policy.
Assessment
Active participation is both mandatory and strongly encouraged, as it forms an integral part of the final grade. Students will be expected to contribute through presentations and small group assignments conducted throughout the course.
The final examination will be written ("paper and pen") and divided into two parts:
- a theoretical section with three open-ended questions;
- a case-based section, consisting of one question relating to a case discussed during the course.
Course Materials and Weekly Assignments
There is no single textbook for this course. Instead, students will receive weekly assignments consisting of readings and case materials. Each class session will build directly on this material, which together forms the required study corpus for the final exam. Weekly study and active participation are therefore not only encouraged but are in themselves the most effective preparation for the assessment.
Friday, September 12, 2025
Thursday, September 11, 2025
Wednesday, September 10, 2025
Judge Alsup Blasts $1.5 Billion Anthropic AI Copyright Settlement (2)
Bloomberg Law, here.
[The Judge who learned how to code - Oracle v. Google]
Monday, September 08, 2025
Sunday, September 07, 2025
Saturday, September 06, 2025
Friday, September 05, 2025
War, trade, and antitrust
Video here.
Mario Monti said that Teresa Ribera should've considered resigning after what happened on Monday. On Friday, coup de théâtre: big fine and possible structural remedies. What happened really during this rather defining week for the EU?
Wednesday, September 03, 2025
Sunday, August 31, 2025
Surrender a pair of shoes today and who knows what you are going to give up tomorrow?
FT, here.
Big Tech’s political power has been channelled through the market. By now, we shoud've learned our lesson. AI technologies imposed on consumers and business users are new forms of intermediation. Left to well known dynamics, enshittification is inevitable. US citizens and consumers have no choice, but is it what we want for the EU? Again?New cloud and AI development Act
Public submissions, here.
EU's pace is utterly inadequate, in these changing times. What to do?
Saturday, August 30, 2025
Contested Ground: Early Competition and Market Dynamics in Generative AI
CRAI, here.
No need to worry, everything's just fine. Ask Big Tech and AI conflicted economists!
Luckily, these "studies" are increasingly getting the attention they deserve.
Friday, August 29, 2025
The crawl-to-click gap: Cloudflare data on AI bots, training, and referrals
The Cloudfare Blog, here.
Waiting for Judge Mehta's remedies...
Lina Khan recently reminded us that antitrust is “pro-growth” because it clears away private choke points. Europe has written that logic into law through the DMA; the US still waits on individual judges to prise open markets. Mehta’s decision (from here, at some point) will tell us whether American enforcement can rise to the challenge—or whether the choke points will remain firmly in place, and further expand into the gatekeepers AI age.
EuroStack: Enough Contemplation, but also Enough Straw Mannerism
The Eurostack, here.
[Interestingly, straw mannerism has been the preferred tactic also against DMA supporters - plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose]
Thursday, August 28, 2025
Wednesday, August 27, 2025
Tuesday, August 26, 2025
President Trump is kindly invited to our DMA Conference. Thank you.
Mr President,
Perhaps it is all a misunderstanding. Our EU laws are not meant to punish your most prized tech companies, but to secure contestability and fairness in European digital markets. In your own language, it is about levelling the playing field, making markets great again, and ensuring that everyone gets, as you would put it, a fair deal.
In the spirit of cultivating a more balanced understanding in our transatlantic intercourse, we would be delighted to welcome you to our forthcoming conference on the Digital Markets Act, in person or online. There you will hear from independent researchers—a species now sadly endangered in the United States—that the DMA is not contrived to screw your crown jewels, but to build European digital markets on principles rather different from those across the Atlantic, namely firmly rooted in contestability and fairness.
For years we in Europe played the dutiful vassal, scarcely noticing the role, nodding along while our digital industries were subdued and our consumers cheerfully milked. Only recently, as one of our leading thinkers put it, has our faith in this US promoted version of neoliberalism been broken—and here too, Mr President, your role was not negligible. We now see our dependencies and chains—bound to technologies devised elsewhere, with embedded values ofter far from our own.
Thank you for your kind attention. We look forward to your prompt feedback.
Kindest regards
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Euractiv, here . [Added value: no annoying, unsolicited "AI integration"]
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P. Hacker et al., here .
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Berlin 18 November and livestreamed here . The DMA sits at the table - it isn't on the menu. -
Bits of Freedom, hier.
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Reuters, here. A topic for the next DMA High Level Group too?