We’re big fans This American Life, the NPR show that hardly ever fails to inform and surprise. So it’s great to be able to plug an episode “When Patents Attack,” a smart, balanced assessment of the benefits and costs of the patent system – in particular, the impact of former …
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We’re of two minds about the Federal Trade Commission’s decision to open a wide-ranging antitrust investigation of Google. On the one hand (minds, hands…hey, at least we know we’re mixing metaphors), that’s the FTC’s job. Google is a very big, sometimes dominant, player in a lot of IT markets, so … By Robert Hahn, Peter Passell | Tags: Federal Trade Commission, Google, Microsoft, search | Category: Internet regulation |
 Leave a comment“The Cloud” is certainly the buzz-phrase du jour as the behemoth IT companies rush to offer remote storage “in the cloud” for everything from document files to home videos. You get the convenience of easy access to the stuff on a variety of devices in a variety of places. They … By Robert Hahn, Peter Passell | Tags: Amazon, Apple, Google, iCloud, iTunes, Microsoft | Category: Consumer Protection, Mobile Telephone Regulation |
One commentScott Cleland of the Precursorblog.com argues that Apple and Google have different incentives to respect the privacy of their customers. He correctly points out that Google makes its money from advertising, while Apple thrives on selling trend-setting gadgets like iPhones and iPads (Note to self: Did someone forget … By Robert Hahn, Peter Passell | Tags: Apple, Bing, Google, Internet privacy, Microsoft, Precursorblog, Scott Cleland, two-sided market, Yahoo! | Category: Telecommunications Regulation |
Leave a commentWhen you think about it, the match was inevitable. Washington needs Facebook – and Facebook needs Washington. Start at the back end. President Obama hosted a town hall meeting on Facebook today because there is probably no more effective way to attract (positive) attention from under-forty-somethings. No suprises there. What may … By Robert Hahn, Peter Passell | Tags: Facebook, Google, Microsoft, National Recovery Administration | Category: Political Economy |
Leave a commentSome four decades ago, Nobel economist George Akerlof argued that markets didn’t get it right when sellers knew a lot more than their potential customers. In the used car market, for example, buyers can’t readily distinguish lemons from non-lemons without investing in the services of an … By Robert Hahn, Peter Passell | Tags: Allow, asymmetric information, CarMax, George Akerlof, Google, Microsoft, Mozilla, Personal | Category: Consumer Protection |
Leave a commentIt’s old news that Google is being investigated for abusing its dominant (as in, 90 percent-plus) market share in Internet searches. Seems a whole bunch of companies that compete with Google are complaining that Big G is discriminating by demoting them to lesser positions on search results. And the European … By Robert Hahn, Peter Passell | Tags: Anti-trust, Attorney General, European Union, Google, Microsoft | Category: Antitrust, Internet regulation |
Leave a commentRemember the dire warnings that Apple’s exclusive iPhone deal with AT&T would give the pair unprecedented market power? The jeremiahs are breathing easier now that Apple is apparently adding Verizon to the inner circle. But the market segment has long been more competitive than generally understood. … By Robert Hahn, Peter Passell | Tags: Android, Apple, AT&T, iPhone, Microsoft, smartphone, Verizon | Category: Quick Takes, Telecommunications Regulation |
Leave a commentThe New York Times once again demonstrated just how important investigative journalism can be in its exposé of how the Kremlin is using selective prosecution of software piracy to stifle political dissent. Microsoft, the alleged victim of the piracy by environmental groups, responded quickly and decisively, stripping away … By Robert Hahn, Peter Passell | Tags: Hernando de Soto, Microsoft, Russia, Software Business Alliance, software piracy | Category: Intellectual Property |
Leave a commentRemember when Microsoft appeared to be on track to dominate our waking hours at work (Windows, Office) and at play (Xbox, Internet Explorer, MSN)? Seems like a quaint memory now — though, in the long-standing tradition of refighting the last war, as recently as December the European competition authority was … By Robert Hahn, Peter Passell | Tags: AdMob, Antitrust, DoubleClick, Facebook, FTC, Google, Microsoft | Category: Competition Policy |
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