How Google and Facebook Undermine Diversity in News. Together with MediaJustice and the News Media Alliance, Economic Liberties published a groundbreaking report, “Minority-Owned Media and the Digital Duopoly,” documenting how Facebook and Google’s dominance over online advertising is systematically undermining media owned by and designed to serve communities of color. The report will help inform the Senate Antitrust Subcommittee’s consideration of new legislation that would allow news media outlets to collectively negotiate with the tech platforms for fair compensation for the use of their content.
Putting the Brakes on the Merger Frenzy. In January, Economic Liberties released “To Save Jobs and Slow Inequality, Stop the Merger Frenzy” to draw attention to the short- and long-term consequences of the avalanche of consolidation during the pandemic. This month, FTC Chair Lina Khan and DOJ Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter launched a joint initiative to overhaul merger guidelines, which help govern which types of corporate combinations should be considered illegal. Sarah Miller explained the effort’s significance in The Financial Times and Reuters, lifting up the importance of seeking out diverse viewpoints as new guidelines are developed. You can read her Washington Post op-ed on the connection between good jobs and merger policy here, and check out our merger tracker dataset here. Please reach out to us at [email protected] if you’d like to submit a comment in the docket but have questions or need a hand.
“We’re Not Going to Back Down.” In an hour-long interview on CNBC, FTC Chair Lina Khan took tough questions about efforts to rein in Big Tech and laid out her vision for a revitalized agency. Sarah Miller joined the The Economist’s podcast to explain why a revolution in antitrust enforcement was warranted and what a new generation of thinkers and activists hoped to accomplish. Senior Policy Advisor Krista Brown spoke to The Wall Street Journal about what promises to be a protracted showdown between the FTC and Big Tech. And Economic Liberties’ sister 501(c)4 organization, Fight Corporate Monopolies, launched a new War Room to counter corporate attacks on antitrust enforcers. Read more about it in Axios.
The Military Turns Against Monopolies. When Economic Liberties launched two years ago, Sarah Miller told The New York Times that protecting national security from defense monopolies was a key goal of the new organization, and Matt Stoller and Director of National Security Lucas Kunce’s “America’s Monopoly Crisis Hits the Military” turned heads in defense circles. This week, after an intense two years of effort, the Pentagon embraced Economic Liberties’ view and declared that consolidation in the defense industry is risking America’s national security. This is a remarkable 180 degree turnaround from decades of pro-merger policy at the DoD, and it was complemented by FTC Chair Lina Khan’s successful challenge to Lockheed Martin’s attempted acquisition of a key supplier. Read more in The Wall Street Journal’s “Why 30 Years of Defense Consolidation May Be at an End.”
BIG Comes to the Small Screen. This month, Research Director and author of the newsletter BIG Matt Stoller launched a video series with the hugely popular YouTube show “Breaking Points.” First up? Unpacking the scam behind Amazon Prime. And although we know (unfortunately!) that Amazon is still quite popular, so was his debut show — so far, it’s been viewed nearly 320,000 times. Watch it here (and wait for the amusing cameo from DC Attorney General Karl Racine, who’s overseeing a lawsuit targeting the e-commerce giant).
Taking the Corporate Power Fight to the States. If you want to know how state and local lawmakers are standing up to corporate giants, keep an eye on Economic Liberties’ Pat Garofalo. In Texas, due in part to Garofalo’s advocacy, the state Comptroller abandoned an outrageous proposal to eliminate transparency rules for one of Texas’ biggest corporate subsidy programs. In New York, Illinois, and Florida, state lawmakers introduced legislation inspired by Garofalo’s exclusive essay for The New York Times, “How Amazon, Google, and Other Companies Exploit NDAs.” And in Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and New York, lawmakers are executing one of the key recommendations of Garofalo’s “Tools for Taking on Big Tech’s Economic Power.” Garofalo’s work has earned him an impressive reputation, with media like Protocol’s Ben Brody calling him a “great example” of someone “getting states to take on corporate power [by] bringing the battle to 50 capitals.” Read more about what states can do to fight corporate power in Garofalo’s latest for The Chicago Tribune, and find out the latest on key fights in Garofalo’s excellent newsletter.
Continuing the Fight Against Big Pharma. Internationally recognized for her work to secure COVID-19 vaccines for all, Economic Liberties’ Lori Wallach launched our new Rethink Trade program with an urgent event featuring U.S. Reps. Rosa DeLauro, Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, and Jan Schakowsky, Chairwoman of the Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee. Together with our key partners, Doctors Without Borders, AccessIBSA, and Partners in Health, Wallach debunked Big Pharma talking points on the TRIPS waiver fight, and explained why securing a vaccine waiver is key to ending the global pandemic. In her first podcast of the year, Wallach digs even deeper into the issue with Health Gap Director Asia Russel. Listen here.
