Lina Khan challenges longtime goal
In 2017, then-29-year-old law student Lina Khan rose to fame with her academic paper on why the Amazon should be contained. Contrary to popular trends in antitrust law, Khan argued that the e-commerce giant unfairly controls vast swaths of the American economy.
Khan, now FTC chairman, is finally set to take on Amazon, but her agency’s new lawsuit against the company does not focus on antitrust. Still, legal experts question whether or when she will stick to the theories that made her famous in the first place.
On Wednesday, the FTC accused Amazon of tricking customers into signing up for Prime., the company’s delivery and video streaming services. The agency said Amazon used “manipulative, coercive, or deceptive” design tactics known as “dark patterns” on its website to get millions to sign up and “deliberately complicate the cancellation process.” I let you.
“Amazon tricked people into subscribing without their consent,” Khan said. The FTC is asking the court to stop Amazon from engaging in these practices and to impose financial penalties.
The company denied the FTC’s allegations. They were “contrary to fact and law,” it said, adding that they “make it clearer and easier for customers to sign up for and cancel Prime memberships.” Amazon added that the FTC filed the lawsuit without prior notice, even though the two companies are still in negotiations over the allegations.
This is not the showdown Washington expected. To be fair, the FTC have “Going after big companies like Amazon is sending a message to other players in the industry,” John Davison, senior adviser to the Electronic Privacy Information Center, told The Times. He said he focused on design practices.
Amazon was already gearing up to fight Mr. Khan, and was moving toward his appointment in 2021. Denied From FTC Antitrust Investigation I joined the company because of her previous criticism. (Her Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, had previously tried something similar, but failed.)
Still, the FTC’s Antitrust Division has been investigating Amazon over its competitive practices for years. And Khan put the broad ideas behind the legal review article into practice as the agency’s commissioner, prompting speculation in Washington that it’s not a matter of if a bigger battle with Amazon will happen, but when. Many people are holding
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In other news, the FTC and Microsoft said: face off in court on Thursday Over whether the tech giant’s $69 billion takeover offer for Activision Blizzard should go ahead. Witness lists in the lawsuit include Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Activision head Bobby Kotick.
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The search for the missing submarine has a ‘big day’. More rescue ships are ready to join the search for Titan, including robots that can reach the seafloor. The air supply for five passengers is believed to be nearly depleted, but some experts say it could last for a while with careful breathing.
Senator Chuck Schumer paved the way for AI regulation. Majority leaders called for an approach that prioritizes goals such as accountability, innovation and security without endorsing specific proposals. Schumer stressed that Congress “must be part of the AI revolution” and hopes lawmakers can introduce legislation in the coming months.
Senate Banking Committee approves amendments to banking regulations. All but two members of the panel agreed to harsher penalties Leaders of failing financial institutions are called for greater Fed supervision and other actions proposed in the aftermath of the local banking crisis. The bipartisan move would put pressure on House Republicans to adopt similar legislation.
The Bank of England raises interest rates more than expected. central bank on thursday Interest rates rise by 0.5 percentage points, contrary to expectations to choose a quarter point increase. The decision comes a day after the latest data showed that headline inflation in the UK remained at 8.7% in May, higher than economists expected.
A ‘long way’ from Mr. Powell’s tastes
Stocks appear to be headed for a fourth straight day of decline as investors worry that sustained inflation will never call for the Fed to raise rates even once. Two degrees There is a risk that there will be more this year, hurting the economy.
However, not all is gloomy in the market, with Bitcoin prices buoyed by expectations that the cryptocurrency may soon become mainstream following a regulatory crackdown on some of the industry’s biggest exchanges. is soaring.
Investors are starting to think about a longer period of rising interest rates. Fed Chairman Jay Powell said in testimony before the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday that further hikes in prime lending rates may be needed to curb spending by businesses and consumers.
“Inflationary pressures remain high and there is a long way to go in the process of returning inflation to 2%,” Powell told lawmakers.
Such valuations have cast a pessimistic view on the market. Stocks, especially tech stocks, have fallen, but only a few weeks ago hopes that the Fed’s rate hike was nearly complete sent the S&P 500 into a bull market.
On the other hand, bearish investors bet more and more that stock prices will fall. And economists worry about the impact of ending the moratorium on federal student loan payments.
Defeating depression is… Bitcoin, It crossed $30,000 on Thursday morning. Behind that rise are expectations that regulators will eventually accept cryptocurrencies into mainstream finance. Cryptocurrency prices have since surged more than 20 percent in the past week. BlackRock filed with SEC To operate the Spot Bitcoin Exchange Traded Fund. Rival asset managers soon followed suit. Another vote of confidence came from Mr. Powell himself, who said Wednesday that cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin “Endurance.“
The SEC has not previously approved spot bitcoin ETF applications, fearing such investments are vulnerable to fraud and market volatility. But Bitcoin enthusiasts hope BlackRock, the world’s largest ETF manager with a lot of clout in Washington, can turn things around.
“A possible assumption is that Blackrock may know something,” Nate Gerasi, president of advisory firm The ETF Store, told Bloomberg.
US opens new front in war with China
As the Biden administration seeks to block China’s technological expansion in the name of national security, it is considering a new area of concern: cloud computing, The Times’ David McCabe reports.
The move could further complicate the digital cold war between the two countries, as US officials send different signals about how they want to deal with Beijing.
White House Considers Potential Restrictions on Chinese Cloud Providers When operating in the United States, we have debated ways to limit overseas growth. As part of that effort, officials have been talking to US tech giants such as Microsoft and Alphabet about how their Chinese counterparts such as Alibaba and Huawei operate.
The move was prompted by concerns that the Chinese government could use data centers in the United States and abroad to gain access to sensitive data. Similar concerns underlie US efforts to shut down Chinese telecom companies and the video app TikTok. Chinese companies account for only a small percentage of U.S. cloud services, but they have made inroads into Asia and Latin America.
Among the measures the White House is considering It is tightening Commerce Department rules for Chinese cloud companies and consulting with foreign governments on the issue. The Biden administration is also looking at ways to help U.S. cloud providers compete with rivals in China, which may undercut pricing on the back of government subsidies.
A potential cloud battle may only complicate US-China relations The past few days have been zigzag.Secretary of State Anthony Brinken’s visit to Beijing, which was aimed at stabilizing ties, was hailed on both sides, but the Chinese government was outraged by President Biden’s remarks on Tuesday. Comparing President Xi Jinping to a dictator.
“It used to be common to say someone was an investment banker, and that was a big deal. I would be a lawyer.”
— Lisa LipmanManhattan Real Estate Brokers On A Clear Power Shift On Wall Street: Bankers Are No Longer Top Moneymakers.
Why Antitrust Police Fight For Wealthy Golfers
As the Justice Department scrutinizes a potential merger of the PGA Tour and Saudi-backed LIV Golf for antitrust concerns, a common question is being asked among trade watchers. TRUE Do you defend billionaire golfers affected by this move?
The answer is what DealBook heard. It is quite possible. And there are legal reasons for that.
Under President Biden, the Justice Department is focused on labor issues. The agency’s antitrust division cited these as evidence of its successful efforts to block Penguin Random House’s proposed takeover bid for Simon & Schuster, which said the deal would reduce the author’s compensation. Stated. Labor issues are also at the center of the department’s current investigation into the PGA Tour.
The ministry aims to build case law on the effects of trade on labor. The “efficiencies” companies tout as merger benefits often lead to “employee reductions,” but it is difficult to directly attribute those workforce reductions to acquisitions.
But it is easy to demonstrate the effect of the agreement on the workforce of specific industries, such as sports, where athletes do not have many choices about where they work. Anything the Justice Department does here could set the stage for opposing deals in other areas such as entertainment, hospitals and media.
The policy is now in favor of regulators. When the FTC investigated the PGA Tour in the 1990s, several Lawmakers sent a letter to the ministry Defending the organization, the investigation fizzled out.
But Saudi Arabia’s involvement in the PGA-LIV agreement changes Washington’s reckoning.of schedule a hearing Senator Richard Blumenthal, the Democratic chairman of the Senate committee examining the issue, said of the potential deal, “What a Saudi takeover would do to the future of this important American institution and to our national interests. What does it mean?”
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a First, look at “Dumb Money”. Paul Dano stars as Keith “Roaring Kitty” Gill, Seth Rogen as Gabe Plotkin, and Vincent D’Onofrio as Steve Cohen in the upcoming movie about the madness of the GameStop deal. (Vanity Fair)
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How Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese were drawn into this effort Protecting Turner’s classic films In the midst of a possible restructuring by parent company Warner Bros. Discovery. (Hollywood Reporter)
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intention Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg actual Step into the octagon? (CNBC)
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