Issues

Competition Policy and Antitrust

Competition policy uses economic analysis to enhance our understanding of how firm behavior affects social welfare. Scholars featured on this site consider how technology markets function, and the special issues raised by networks, platforms, interoperability, and bundling by firms like Google, Apple, and Microsoft.

TAP Blog

Tim Wu Makes a Case for Breaking Up Facebook and Instagram

Columbia law professor Tim Wu shares expertise from his time as a Senior Advisor with the Federal Trade Commission to explain how the agency approved Facebook’s acquisition of Instagram. Professor Wu proposes unwinding that merger in order to insert competition to help ‘check’ Facebook’s power.

TAP Staff Blogger

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Fact Sheets

Government Procurement

“Procurement” is the process by which governments choose to obtain and buy goods and services from the private sector.

Quote

The Case for Breaking Up Facebook and Instagram

In this opinion piece written for The Washington Post, Columbia law professor Tim Wu argues that Facebook’s acquisition of Instagram in 2012 never should have been given the okay by antitrust regulators. Professor Wu emphasizes: “It’s not too late to create a meaningful check on the power of Mark Zuckerberg’s company.”

Tim Wu
The Washington Post
September 28, 2018

Featured Article

Using Spectrum Auctions to Enhance Competition in Wireless Services

This paper looks at how regulators can support more competition between different wireless services.

By: Gregory L. Rosston, Peter Cramton, Evan Kwerel, Andrzej (Andy) Skrzypacz