Applying the Effects Doctrine in Tech Markets

Abstract

Over the last fifty years, antitrust has developed into a coherent, principled, and workable body of law that contributes positively not only to American competitiveness and societal well-being, but also helps to export the culture of market competition around the world. However, with the advent of ecommerce and the rapid growth in the technology sector, questions have been raised regarding market concentration and a dearth of enforcement actions being brought in these spaces. Critics have questioned the well settled Chicago School of thought, claiming that the consumer welfare standard is diminishing- benefiting neither the consumer nor competition. Proponents of the Chicago School argue that efforts to abandon the consumer welfare standard are a misguided throwback to the incoherent antitrust regime of the mid-twentieth century. They caution against allowing economic populism to turn the focus of the antitrust regime away from economic efficiency. My research will examine whether a socialistic reversal of the antitrust regime would truly benefit the American economy through the thought process that is gaining traction now, or would it cause it to suffer based on chilled innovation and over-regulation.