Center on Civil Justice: Antitrust Series
USING MARKET POWER TO EXERT UNPRECEDENTED CONTROL IN THE 21ST CENTURY
Part 1: Trump v. Twitter: The Impact of Market Power on Political Speech
Wednesday, March 10
1:00 PM to 2:00 PM ET
Following the assault on the U.S. Capitol, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook banned Donald Trump and thousands of right-wing extremists from use of their platforms. Other technology companies withdrew services to Parler, effectively removing the right-wing social media network from the internet. In doing so, these companies were able to shut down many right-wing information networks, a leading node of which was the highest-ranking national executive in the United States. These decisions were designed to diminish the risk of potential civil unrest and even violence. This lead-off session in the series explores whether these actions were a tangible use of market dominance and the implications this has for the market position of social media and technology to control speech and to impact civil society in unanticipated ways.
Moderator
Samuel Issacharoff (NYU School of Law)
Panelists
Kate Klonick (St. John's School of Law)
Nathaniel Persily (Stanford Law School)
Daniel Rodriguez (Northwestern School of Law)
Dina Srinivasan (Yale Thurman Arnold Project)
Part 2: Data as Market Power: Barriers to Entry from Big Data
Wednesday, March 24
1:00 PM to 2:00 PM ET
The 21st Century has already seen unprecedented innovation in the area of artificial intelligence. Artificially intelligent tools depend on access to large data sets. Information in data sets can determine whether a product succeeds, whether it is innovative, and whether it has competitive alternatives. Access to the data set also determines whether privacy requirements can be complied with. Is it possible to monopolize data sets? Is it possible to control a sufficient amount of data that a company—whose own products may not even be “data”—can impact innovation on a large scale? And, as an initial matter, is there any evidence that data is in practice serving as a major barrier to entry in any industry?
Moderator
Thomas Streinz (NYU School of Law)
Panelists
Taylor Owings (Department of Justice, Antitrust Division)
Maggie Segall (Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP)
Josh Tzuker (Oracle)
Sandeep Vaheesan (Open Markets)
Part 3: Regulation, Antitrust and Beyond: Tools for Responding to the Platform Economy
Wednesday, April 7
1:00 PM to 2:00 PM ET
There is a vibrant and urgent conversation about how society should respond to the platform economy and the technological and commercial changes it brings. At least three different toolkits present themselves as complementary or substitute sources of solutions to the problems and challenges of life in the digital economy: antitrust, regulation and industry standards. What exactly is the role of antitrust in the conversation about how our society should respond to this new economy?
Moderator
Cynthia Estlund (NYU School of Law)
Panelists
Doha Mekki (Department of Justice, Antitrust Division)
Sanjukta Paul (Wayne State University Law School)
Noah Phillips (Federal Trade Commission)
Diane Wood (United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit)
Part 4: Health Care Consolidation
Wednesday, April 21
1:00 PM to 2:00 PM ET
America is undergoing a healthcare crisis. Millions of Americans are uninsured, while we pay more for healthcare than any country in the world. And the costs are continuing to rise. We have seen healthcare consolidation in many areas of the industry—hospitals and other providers, pharmaceuticals and medical devices, and insurers. Is this consolidation contributing to the healthcare crisis? If so, does antitrust play a role in getting us out of it?
Moderator
Daniel Francis (NYU School of Law)
Panelists
Norm Armstrong (King & Spalding)
Evan Chesler (Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP)
Robin Feldman (UC Hastings College of the Law)
Scott Hemphill (NYU School of Law)
Mark Seidman (Federal Trade Commission)