New Debates and Tensions in Antitrust: How to Handle Big Tech?

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Date: Monday, September 30, 2019 – 12:00pm to 1:30pm

Location: Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2237, 45 Independence Ave SW, Washington, D.C. 20515

Antitrust has become a hot topic, taking an especially prominent role in the policy debate over the role of large technology companies in our economy, our society, and our daily lives. Proposals are coming from across the political spectrum for ways to regulate how tech platforms handle data and privacy, how they manage controversial content, and how they behave in the marketplace. Antitrust enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad are pursuing investigations and launching policy initiatives to probe large tech firms’ competitive behavior. A number of presidential candidates have made policy proposals to regulate tech firms, ranging from calls for more aggressive antitrust enforcement under existing laws, to legislative proposals that would break up some firms or regulate them as utilities. 

In this second in a series of Georgetown on the Hill programs on antitrust policy, we explored these issues in depth to consider the path forward in this key policy sector, in a panel discussion featuring respected experts from the economic, legal, and policy communities. 

The discussion was moderated by Mark Whitener, Senior Industry and Innovation Fellow, Georgetown Center for Business and Public Policy; and former Global Executive Counsel, Competition Law & Policy, General Electric Company. Panelists included:

  • John W. Mayo, Elsa Carlson McDonough Professor of Business Administration, Georgetown University; and Executive Director, Georgetown Center for Business and Public Policy
  • Terrell McSweeney, Partner, Covington and Burling LLP; and former Commissioner, Federal Trade Commission
  • Howard Shelanski, Professor of Law, Georgetown University; and former Director of the Bureau of Economics (2012-2013), Federal Trade Commission
  • Paul Yde, Partner, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP; and former Attorney-Advisor, Federal Trade Commission

 

This forum is part of the Georgetown Center for Business and Public Policy’s Georgetown on the Hill series at which we convene policymakers, academics, and industry experts to discuss important economic policy issues of the day.