Antitrust and Big Tech with Matt Perault

Matt Perault is the director of the Center on Technology Policy at UNC Chapel Hill, and previously worked at Facebook, as the head of the global policy development team. This episode he and Elizabeth get into the weeds on antitrust competition laws, monopolies and big tech. They talk about how monopolies can be both good and bad, the goals of antitrust laws, and the complication of these laws applying across different regions of the world. They also discuss some of the antitrust lawsuits in big tech right now, and the various stakeholders involved.

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Off the top, Elizabeth mentions this crash course video about monopolies and anti-competitive markets.Matt uses a few terms related to the antitrust context: interoperability - the ability for users to use different devices or systems interchangeability, for example using the same cable to charge different types of cell phonesnondiscrimination principle - an antitrust principle that obliges companies to be neutral vis-à-vis other competitors and service providers in their industryconsumer welfare standard - a guideline that prohibits actions by companies that negatively impact consumersMatt brings up a number of antitrust cases throughout the episode: FTC suit to block a proposed merger between Meta and Within UnlimitedUK looking into Microsoft bid to buy video game company Activision16 U.S. states and territories filed a suit against Google over ad technology practicesU.S. Justice Department filed a suit on the same issue at the federal levelFTC looking at Amazon for monopolistic business practicesDispute between Apple and Epic Games House Judiciary Committee did a big a investigation of big tech companiesThere are also a few big pieces of antitrust legislation that come up. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) — EuropeCompetition Act — Canada Please visit our website for complete show notes with additional links.

Check out www.polcommtech.ca for annotated transcripts of this episode in English and French.