1. Monthly archive
  2. January 2020

January 2020

Plight of Newspapers Generates Uncommon Bipartisan Unity

Anger toward big technology companies has led to multiple antitrust investigations, calls for a new federal data privacy law and criticism of the companies’ political ad policies. Perhaps no issue about the tech companies, though, has united lawmakers in the Capitol like the decimation of local news. Lawmakers from both parties blame companies like Facebook and Google, which dominate the online ad industry. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) gave a big boost to a bill that may provide some papers a lifeboat.

Paging Dr. Google: How the Tech Giant Is Laying Claim to Health Data

Google has struck partnerships with some of the country’s largest hospital systems and most-renowned health-care providers, many of them vast in scope and few of their details previously reported. In just a few years, the company has achieved the ability to view or analyze tens of millions of patient health records in at least three-quarters of US states. In certain instances, the deals allow Google to access personally identifiable health information without the knowledge of patients or doctors.

DOJ and FTC Announce Draft Vertical Merger Guidelines for Public Comment

The Department of Justice withdrew the 1984 DOJ Non-Horizontal Merger Guidelines, and, together with the Federal Trade Commission, released new draft 2020 Vertical Merger Guidelines and seek public comment. The draft guidelines, open to comment for 30 days, describe how the federal antitrust agencies review vertical mergers to evaluate whether the mergers violate antitrust law.

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