U.S. Antitrust Policy in the Age of Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Apple, Netflix and Facebook

Abstract

Sweeping changes have disrupted society courtesy of the Information Revolution, presenting great opportunities in radically transformed economic markets but also great challenges in adapting to new and different forms of organization. Antitrust laws and other elements of competition policy are being re-examined. Specifically, the House Judiciary Committee conducted hearings in 2020 in which it asked key questions about the pattern of development in U.S. markets and options for policy reform. This paper, answering such queries, finds strong evidence for the view that, relative to practical alternatives that include E.U.-style regulation, digital markets in the U.S. appear robust, generating considerable innovation that produces pro-consumer outcomes. The global Internet is dominated by U.S.-developed technologies and business models discovered and deployed in a process of competitive rivalry. Even given imperfect rules and regulations, U.S. markets have contributed strongly to economic advances embraced around the world.