In the piece “Censorship Is a Consumer Harm”, the authors are correct that when it comes to antitrust enforcement, consumer harms need not only be financial, but such harms are one piece of a three-part test. Antitrust law requires showing market power, abuse of that power and proof that those actions then result in consumer harm.
In jumping to condemn America’s technology businesses as violating antitrust law, the authors skip two two of these requirements. Instead of showing market power — or, monopoly power — they actually detail the robust competition in the marketplace for social media. By citing both Twitter and Facebook, the authors establish market competition. They then leave out all the other platforms competing in the marketplace, including Youtube, Rumble, Parler, Substack and Truth Social to name a few. Judge Bork’s consumer welfare standard requires this, and the authors should do better to lay out their case rather than just suggest violation of one sliver of the pie.
Jumping to conviction without making a 3-pronged case echoes the weaponization of antitrust which the Biden administration’s FTC and DOJ are using to attack businesses Biden doesn’t like. Conservatives must not support Biden’s approach.