Competition Lore Podcast

Developing policy at Facebook?

If we regulate to protect privacy, do we risk competition? If we regulate to strengthen competition, do we risk innovation? If we regulate to exclude harmful content, do we risk free speech? Over-simplified perhaps, but these are in essence some of the hard questions in tech policy right now, and grappling with such questions from within a tech company must be one of the most challenging jobs there is. In this episode we are joined by Matt Perault, former head of global policy development at Facebook. Matt has looked the challenges squarely in the eye and shares with us how the social network giant has been dealing with them, together with his thoughts on how interactions between stakeholders can affect policy outcomes, for better or worse. It’s a rich and wide ranging conversation that you won’t want to miss.  Matt has now taken on the role as Director of a Center for Science and Technology Policy at Duke University. The Center will act as an interdisciplinary hub for science and technology policy research and bring together stakeholders from the tech industry, government and academia to exchange insights and perspectives on policy development. Here are some of items on which we touched in the episode: Mark Zuckerberg’s recent speech at Georgetown University, Facebook’s Statement on a Privacy-Focused Vision for Social Networking and its White Paper on Data Portability. You can read a recent Opinion piece by Matt in the New York Times here.  His Center is launching a podcast on tech policy, TechKnowledgey, so be sure to take a listen. Featuring regular cut-through interviews with leading thinkers, movers and shakers, Competition Lore is a podcast series that engages us all in a debate about the transformative potential and risks of digitalised competition. Join Caron Beaton-Wells, Professor in Competition Law at the University of Melbourne, to tackle what it means to participate as a competitor, consumer or citizen in a digital economy and society. Competition Lore is produced by Written & Recorded.

Doing Digital in India?

Across developing countries, connectivity through internet access and use, particularly on mobile devices, has vastly improved over the last decade. In large part this is due to the efforts of Big Tech and their strategies of reaching “the next billion users”.  As welcome as such efforts may be, there are risks also for competition as a key driver of economic development and growth. So how have governments and competition authorities in developing countries been responding? In this episode we are joined by Shilpi Battacharya, Associate Professor at Jindal Global University, and Ujjwal Kumar, Policy Advisor at Consumer Unity and Trust Society. We discuss developments in India, a country where the authorities have been on the front foot in grappling with the issues and, as you’ll hear, the responses and outcomes to date have been mixed. Some of the discussion refers to a recent BRICs report on digital era competition.  You can find the report here. Featuring regular cut-through interviews with leading thinkers, movers and shakers, Competition Lore is a podcast series that engages us all in a debate about the transformative potential and risks of digitalised competition. Join Caron Beaton-Wells, Professor in Competition Law at the University of Melbourne, to tackle what it means to participate as a competitor, consumer or citizen in a digital economy and society. Competition Lore is produced by Written & Recorded

Being DG Comp's Chief Economist?

There wouldn’t be too many more prized, and pressured, jobs than as Chief Economist at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition, and particularly in recent years when DG Comp has been at the vanguard of developments in antitrust enforcement against Big Tech. Professor Tommaso Valletti has just completed his three year term as DG Comp’s Chief Economist and has much to share about his experience.  In this episode we canvas what it’s like being in the “Brussels bubble”, working with Margrethe Vestager, why he has called himself “Professor Lipstick”, academic capture by Big Tech, charges of political interference in EU competition law enforcement, what the next chapter for DG Comp is likely to hold and much more. Tommaso is also well-known for his tweets and you can follow him on Twitter @TomValletti and/or read his academic work here. Featuring regular cut-through interviews with leading thinkers, movers and shakers, Competition Lore is a podcast series that engages us all in a debate about the transformative potential and risks of digitalised competition. Join Caron Beaton-Wells, Professor in Competition Law at the University of Melbourne, to tackle what it means to participate as a competitor, consumer or citizen in a digital economy and society. Competition Lore is produced by Written & Recorded

Too much attention?

Much of the antitrust discourse nowadays is about personal data and the implications of concentrated digital markets for our privacy.  But, in focussing on data, have we been missing the wood for the trees?  Are we in fact trading our scarce and precious attention for many of the supposedly free services we enjoy online? In this episode our guest, Associate Professor John Newman from the University of Miami, discusses his research on attention markets, why he thinks there are substantial individual and societal costs associated with concentration in these markets and the role for antitrust and regulation in responding to this under-explored problem. The episode was recorded in person at the Melbourne Law School during John’s visit to deliver a keynote on the topic Attention Scarcity, Technology and Law at the Digital Citizens Conference on 24-26 July. You can find John’s academic writing on this and related topics here and you might also dip into his blog.  Featuring regular cut-through interviews with leading thinkers, movers and shakers, Competition Lore is a podcast series that engages us all in a debate about the transformative potential and risks of digitalised competition. Join Caron Beaton-Wells, Professor in Competition Law at the University of Melbourne, to tackle what it means to participate as a competitor, consumer or citizen in a digital economy and society. Competition Lore is produced by Written & Recorded

Downunder's Dive into Digital Platforms

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has completed its ground-breaking inquiry into digital platforms. What distinguishes this inquiry from many others is its broad holistic approach to competition, consumer, unfair trading, privacy and public interest issues.  It has a focus on the media and advertising sectors but, if accepted, many of its 23 recommendations will have economy-wide effects. In this episode you will hear from Morag Bond and Kate Reader, the joint general managers of the Inquiry team. We discuss the methods employed for information-gathering in the Inquiry, how hotly contested issues were dealt with and the thinking behind the key conclusions and proposals for reform. You can find the website with all the documents relevant to the ACCC Digital Platforms Inquiry here. And if you would like to read my short article on ten key take outs from the Final Report, you can find that here. Featuring regular cut-through interviews with leading thinkers, movers and shakers, Competition Loreis a podcast series that engages us all in a debate about the transformative potential and risks of digitalised competition. JoinCaron Beaton-Wells, Professor in Competition Law at the University of Melbourne, to tackle what it means to participate as a competitor, consumer or citizen in a digital economy and society. Competition Loreis produced by Written & Recorded