Competition

As long-time supporters of free markets and free expression, we are troubled to see politicians use the power of government to attack companies for ideological reasons. We believe that existing antitrust law promotes fair competition and provides a framework for analyzing and, where appropriate, prohibiting, harmful conduct.

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Antitrust Mergers 
In the News

National Petroleum Refiners v FTC: A Tale of Two Opinions

In 1972, a case came before the Hon. Aubrey E. Robinson, Jr., a federal trial judge in the District of Columbia, involving the scope of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) regulatory authority. Section 5(a)(1) of the Federal Trade Commission Act outlaws “unfair methods of competition.” Section 6(g) says that the FTC may “make rules and regulations for the purposes of carrying out” the FTC ...

Corbin K. Barthold
April 27, 2022
Press Release

Revisions to the Merger Guidelines Should Be Incremental

Yesterday, TechFreedom filed comments to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in response to the agencies’ Request for Information regarding ...

Bilal Sayyed
April 22, 2022
Tech Policy Podcast

#322: Noah Phillips

FTC Commissioner

Commissioner Noah Phillips joins the show for a wide-ranging discussion about the Federal Trade Commission. ...

June 2, 2022

Latest Articles

Article

FCC Violates Basic Legal Principles in Rush to Regulate Set-Top Boxes

WASHINGTON D.C. — Today, the FCC voted on a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would  force pay-tv or multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) to change their existing equipment to allow third-party set-top boxes to carry their signals. Currently, MVPD subscribers typically pay $15–20/month to lease set-top boxes from their cable, satellite, or telco video provider. Those set-top boxes allow subscribers to view video programming on their TVs and, in some cases, also provide access ...

February 18, 2016
Article

FCC’s War on Set-Top Boxes is Short-Sighted and a Costly Distraction

WASHINGTON D.C. — Yesterday, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler announced his plans to force pay-tv or multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) to change their existing equipment to allow third-party set-top boxes to carry their signals. Currently, MVPD subscribers typically pay $15–20/month to lease set-top boxes from their cable, satellite, or telco video provider. Those set-top boxes allow subscribers to view video programming on their TVs and, in some cases, also provide access ...

January 18, 2016
Article

FTC’s Competition Policy Statement is Long Overdue

WASHINGTON D.C. — Today, the Federal Trade Commission released a policy statement defining the FTC’s Unfair Methods of Competition (UMC) authority, paralleling the policy statements issued by the Commission regarding its consumer protection authority over unfair (1980) and deceptive (1983) acts and practices (UDAP). The 1-page document reportedly promises that the FTC will only use its UMC authority regarding conduct not covered by the antitrust laws This would ...

August 13, 2015
Article

AT&T/DirecTV Deal Is More FCC Regulation by Extortion

WASHINGTON D.C. — Today, the FCC announced that it had approved AT&T’s purchase of satellite company DirecTV, subject to several key conditions. While some of these conditions concern expanded fiber-to-the-premises deployment and discounted broadband for the poor, others include major de facto regulatory concessions. Most notable are the requirement that AT&T (i) turn over each of its interconnection agreements in advance for review under the vague “just and reasonable” ...

July 24, 2015
Article

FCC Finally Recognizes Competition in Television Market

WASHINGTON D.C. — Yesterday, the Federal Commission Communications (FCC) released an Order limiting the ability of state and local franchise authorities to regulate basic cable television rates. Previously, cable operators had to prove to regulators that they faced “effective competition” from other video providers in order to avoid rate regulation. Now, in light of the growing competition from both satellite (33.9% of the market in 2013) and telco (11.2%) video providers, that burden ...

June 4, 2015
Article

Blocking Comcast-TWC Won’t Increase Competition

Today, the WSJ reported that Federal Communications Commission staff recommended the agency designate a hearing for Comcast’s proposed merger with Time Warner, signalling that the FCC plans to oppose the deal. The Department of Justice is reportedly also planning to sue to block the merger in federal court. “Blocking the Comcast-TWC merger won’t actually do anything to increase competition, encourage deployment or promote adoption among the underserved,” said Berin Szoka, ...

April 23, 2015
Article

Next-Gen DSL Shatters “Cable Monopoly” Myth

FCC Should Reject Static Assumptions Behind Opposition to Comcast-Time Warner Cable Merger Today, TechFreedom filed reply comments on the petitions of Public Knowledge et al and Free Press, which seek to block the proposed merger of Comcast and Time Warner Cable. As in its earlier comments, TechFreedom noted that the merger would not actually affect broadband competition, since the two cable companies do not compete in any market. The reply comments survey massive upgrades in telcos’ ...

December 23, 2014