The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has settled a wine-and-spirits case, and its press release reads like a victory toast. The two commissioners who approved the deal write as if they’d rather send the bottle back. Consumers might want to check
Latest from Truth on the Market - Page 2
Beyond Tariffs: Free Trade and the Friends-and-Family Plan
A trade deal can lower tariffs and yet still leave the hardest barriers untouched. The shipment clears customs, but the supplier cannot get a license, bid for a government contract, or compete with a subsidized state firm. The border is
AI Insurance and the Backstop Reflex: A Policy for Every Risk, a Taxpayer for Every Loss
Washington has a standard playbook when it comes to emerging commercial risks: Make companies buy insurance coverage, then put taxpayers behind the losses. That prescription is gaining fans as artificial intelligence (AI) creates new liability risks. It skips the question
Two Years, 57 Pages, No Merger: Amazon, Anthropic, and Brazil’s Filing Problem
The wave of artificial intelligence (AI) partnerships and “acqui-hires”—deals to acquire a company’s talent—has reached Brazil. The tribunal of Brazil’s Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) decided its first batch of such cases involving large technology firms and AI startups
Licensed to Wait: The High Cost of Spectrum Delay
America’s wireless future is on hold, pending another study. Federal agencies control much of the spectrum needed to build it—and the process for opening those frequencies rewards incumbents for taking their time.
Sustaining U.S. leadership in wireless technology requires more
Proof of Age, Leap of Faith: The EU KIDS Act’s Security Gamble
The European Commission’s proposed EU KIDS Act would bar children under 15 from creating or using accounts on certain social-networking and video-sharing services, with a guardian-controlled option for 13- and 14-year-olds. It would also require providers to build broader safety
Fraud, Platforms, and the Art of Getting Ahead of Yourself
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) wants to stop impersonation scams. Fair enough. But calling a new regulatory venture an “update” doesn’t make it one, and spotting a real problem doesn’t tell you which rules—if any—will solve it. A little more
The Garden State’s War on the Good Deal
New Jersey lawmakers have found a way to spare small grocers the sting of missing out on a discount: make suppliers think twice about offering one to anybody. If a cereal maker gives Walmart a better deal than a corner
California’s COMPETE Act: May the Best Firm Lose
Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed Assembly Bill 1776, the so-called COMPETE Act, making California the first state to add a general prohibition on anticompetitive conduct by individual firms to its principal antitrust statute. Newsom’s announcement casts the law as a
No Country for Young Posters: Social Media Bans Outrun the Evidence
Governments around the world are rushing to address the youth mental health crisis, with social media squarely in their sights. From Capitol Hill to Paris to Sydney, lawmakers are proposing or enacting strict age restrictions that would ban teenagers from