Press Release

Assessing the Technology and Antitrust Policies in President Biden’s Executive Order

President Biden’s competition-focused executive order, released Friday afternoon, contains a grab-bag of policies aimed at antitrust reform and the technology and communications sectors. While the president is seeking to help consumers by boosting competition, many of the policies will instead harm consumers by leading to a less dynamic market, contend AAF’s Director of Technology and Innovation Policy Jennifer Huddleston and Technology and Innovation Policy Analyst Juan Londoño.

Huddleston and Londoño conclude:

This executive order is the latest in the ongoing policy debate about the direction of competition policy in the United States. In pursuing this end, it seeks to insert government regulation into many sectors of the economy. While it claims to focus on consumers and small businesses, many of its provisions would raise prices or make it more difficult to enter markets due to its increased regulations. Instead of seeking to dramatically change antitrust policy, the current focus on consumer welfare should remain and other policy concerns should be addressed through targeted reforms.

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