AAI’s Randy Stutz Joins Big Tech Panel at CFA’s Consumer Assembly

The Consumer Federation of America’s Consumer Assembly featured AAI President Randy Stutz as a panelist on June 5, 2024. The panel focused on the important topic of “Revising Antitrust to Rein In Big Tech Platforms: What Role Should Antitrust Play Regarding Big Tech?” From the panel description:

Revising Antitrust to Rein In Big Tech Platforms: What Role Should Antitrust Play Regarding Big Tech?

A bad thing happened on the internet: it has become dominated by a handful of big tech platforms. They have bought up their rivals, worked to stifle competition, and formed oligopolies over large swaths of economic life. Large players use their size to offer free or low-cost services with the dual aims of starving smaller rivals and capturing market share, knowing they can recoup their losses once they have achieved dominance in their market segment. With so much market power, they capture and monetize our personal data on their terms and in ways that consumers feel powerless to prevent. Their size and power harm small businesses as well. Because many consumers rely on search engines and social media to find a service or a product, Big Tech companies have effectively become toll booths to commerce. Unfortunately, the antitrust framework has traditionally measured consumer welfare through pricing. This panel will discuss potential solutions to revise antitrust law to restore the balance of power between consumers and Big Tech.

Moderator
Sara Morrison, Correspondent, The Capitol Forum

Panelists
Nidhi Hegde, Managing Director, American Economic Liberties Project

Randy Stutz, President, American Antitrust Institute

Sandeep Vaheesan, Legal Director, Open Markets Institute

Bryn Williams, First Assistant Attorney General, Antitrust Unit
Colorado Department of Law