Antitrust Must Consider Efficiencies, and a SLAPP Lawsuit Should Be Dismissed, We Tell Courts
Plus FCC regulatory fees, JCPA (again), AI, and more
Antitrust: Bilal filed an amicus brief this week with the Fifth Circuit in the Illumina-Grail antitrust case. He described why the case will have far-reaching implications for how vertical mergers, and startups with emerging technologies, may be treated in the future.
First Amendment: Yesterday, Ari submitted an amicus brief urging the Sixth Circuit to affirm the dismissal by the trial court in Johnson v. Griffin. Ari details why this case is nothing more than a SLAPP suit—designed to stifle protected speech through the burden of litigation.
JCPA: Berin and Ari sent a fourth letter on the ill-named Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA), which would cartelize the journalism industry—and potentially wreck some important aspects of social media content moderation.
During today’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) aptly summarized concerns we’ve raised about the bill’s likelihood to “disincentivize efforts to moderate content”—and entered our letter into the record.
FCC: Jim filed comments to explain (for a third year in a row) that the FCC can’t assess regulatory fees on an entity that merely receives an “advantage” from the Agency’s work. “Before the FCC can regulate an entity, or levy regulatory fees, the Commission must have actual authority over the entity,” he wrote.
AI: On the latest Tech Policy Podcast, Corbin discussed the mad rush to regulate AI with guest Adam Thierer, resident senior fellow in technology and innovation at the R Street Institute.
In other AI news this week, the parent company of the serial fabulist known as ChatGPT is being sued for defamation. “This case is very strange,” Ari told Rolling Stone. “Strange enough that I have to wonder whether it was something of a setup.”
FISA: We signed a coalition statement on Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. One key takeaway: “Congress should enact limits that will prevent the targeting of ordinary private citizens who are unlikely to be communicating information about foreign threats.”
Presidential Power: We joined a coalition supporting the ARTICLE ONE Act, which aims to rein in the excess of presidentially declared national emergencies; there are 41 now active. We likewise signed a coalition letter to urge reform of the national emergencies process last year.
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