[event] Geoffrey A. Manne: DMA Goes Global

Organizer: Thibault Schrepel, Associate Professor at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (ALTI).

Speaker: Geoffrey A. Manne is the president and founder of the International Center for Law and Economics (ICLE), a nonprofit, nonpartisan research center based in Portland, Oregon. He is also a Visiting Professor at IE University in Madrid, and a distinguished fellow at Northwestern University’s Center on Law, Business, and Economics. Manne holds AB & JD degrees from the University of Chicago. He is an expert in the economic analysis of law, focusing particularly on antitrust, consumer protection, telecom, IP, and technology regulation. From 2003 to 2006 he was an assistant professor at Lewis & Clark Law School where he taught law & economics, international economic regulation, corporations, and other courses. In 2006 he decamped from Lewis & Clark to work in Microsoft’s legal department, heading up a program on law & economics academic engagement. He subsequently founded ICLE in 2009. Prior to teaching, Manne practiced antitrust law and appellate litigation at Latham & Watkins, clerked for Hon. Morris S. Arnold on the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, and worked as a research assistant for Judge Richard A. Posner. He was also once (very briefly) employed by the FTC. His writings and publications are available at SSRN and ICLE.

Description: This presentation will examine the rise of Digital Competition Regulations (DCRs) such as the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) and their global counterparts. It will argue that DCRs will depart fundamentally from traditional competition law, prioritizing rent redistribution, the facilitation of rivals, and the deliberate weakening of successful platforms over consumer welfare or innovation. Drawing on cases like Apple’s DMA compliance and the Android Auto decision, the talk will highlight the conceptual ambiguities, innovation risks, and broader paradigm shift these regulations will represent for competition policy worldwide.

Format: Geoffrey A. Manne will give a 30-minute talk, followed by a discussion moderated by Dr. Thibault Schrepel and a Q&A with the audience.