It’s perplexing that Australian policymakers would roll out the red carpet for those who oppose the resources sector — the very industry that drives and powers national prosperity. Why kneecap your own champions that fund your successful industry? The single most egregious example of this economic self-harm is so-called “lawfare”; the gaming of the legal system to stop Australian resource projects in their tracks and…
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Lina Khan’s Partisan Pivot Should Be the Beginning of Her End
Democratic candidates are crisscrossing the country to garner support before November’s elections. Joining campaign events alongside the likes of Senator Bernie Sanders, Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego, and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi will be an unlikely star and supposedly independent federal employee, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Lina Khan. Khan is due to travel to Austin, Chicago, and Arizona to stump for Democratic candidates, trumpet her antitrust record at…
Yaël Ossowski on Antitrust: Protect Innovation, Not Punish It
The Consumer Choice Center (CCC) was founded with a vision to lead consumer rights and promote freedom of choice in an increasingly regulated world. The spark that ignited this movement occurred when co-founder Fred Roeder, living in Berlin, witnessed a powerful clash between innovation and established industry players. As rideshare apps like Uber began to revolutionize transportation, taxi drivers—who previously held a monopoly—organized large-scale protests….
Johnson & Johnson’s ‘Texas Two Step’ Needs a Conclusion
One of the most followed corporate trials of the decade is drawing nearer to a close. Johnson & Johnson’s Red River Talc subsidiary in Texas filed a third time for bankruptcy in the Southern District of Texas while a majority of affected plaintiffs have indicated they wish to settle. With more than 75 percent of plaintiffs on board, this case should be allowed to conclude instead of being held…
Consumers dudded by secret class action suits
We are no strangers to settling our problems in court. Indeed, it is a core function of citizens in free societies. Staffed by esteemed judges and sometimes juries, people who believe they’ve been wronged can take their claims before a neutral tribunal to plead their case in hopes of a positive outcome and settlement, whether on behalf of a class of litigants or just themselves….
FCC Comments to protect radio frequency for open-source projects and ham radio
This week, the Consumer Choice Center submitted comments to the Federal Communications Commission on its proposal to reconfigure parts of the 900 MHz band, opposing the effort that would end up granting exclusive use for one specific company. The lower end of the 900 MHz band is popular with open-source radio projects, amateur radio operations, and next-level drone and spectrum technologies, and has remained free…
Third-Party Litigation Finance: Chinese Interference with the US Judicial System?
The commodification of lawsuit funding is a somewhat ingenious concept that may indeed help smaller companies win their day in court, but it also opens the door to even more bad faith participation in the justice system. That’s why this industry needs a second look, and needs some guardrails to ensure consumers don’t end up facing higher prices because every company on the market is…
Banning algorithms won’t reduce rents or create more homes
Artificial intelligence may be all the rage in the business world, but to the feds, AI-enabled algorithms are being cast as the main villain behind skyrocketing housing costs in this country. Last month, the Department of Justice joined the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee and Washington to sue RealPage, blaming the software company’s property data services for rising rents nationwide….
Plummeting Smoking Rates Mean a Paradigm Shift for Nicotine
In every gas station and convenience store, a new category of addictive products is flying off shelves. This new thorn in the side of public health advocates is tobacco nicotine pouches. These pouches are made of wood pulp and salt, filled with nicotine, and flavors placed under the upper lip to give the user a buzzing sensation. What do we make of this new nicotine…
Gambling on Lawsuits: New Industry or Threat to the Fairness of Our Courts?
As the 2024 election grinds on, you’ll hear a lot more about the online betting markets which have become all the rage amongst politicos and statisticians. These days, you can bet on election outcomes and even the weather. But should you be able to gamble on courtroom verdicts? That is essentially what’s happening within a new trend of litigation finance by third parties, where outsiders not directly involved in lawsuits…