Wednesday, April 16, 2025
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Wednesday, April 16, 2025

Milwaukee Press Club 'Excellence in Wisconsin Journalism' 2020 & 2021 Award Winners

Op-Ed: Hindsight shouldn’t be 2020 on antitrust

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On Wednesday, New York’s Letitia James led 48 other state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit against Facebook on antitrust grounds. Not to be outdone, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) then also filed its own antitrust suit against the social media company.

Although there are some meaningful differences in the lawsuits, the main contention of both is that Facebook’s purchase of both Instagram and WhatsApp were done to restrict competition, thus giving Facebook a monopoly over “Personal Social Networking Services.” Both lawsuits suggest remedies, including spinning off Instagram and WhatsApp from Facebook.

This case raises troubling issues of fairness in the enforcement of American antitrust laws, along with an ex post facto decision-making that could have profound implications for the future of American business. When Facebook went to acquire Instagram, it went through the FTC without a single dissenting vote. The WhatsApp merger attracted even less scrutiny, as the messaging service was a very distinct product from social media.

It wasn’t just the FTC that saw little threat from the Instagram deal. Both lawsuits note that at the time of purchase, Instagram had only 30 million users, just more than a dozen employees, and no revenue. Jon Stewart of The Daily Show fame even remarked at the time that Facebook just paid a billion dollars “for a thing that kind of ruins your pictures.” But through investment and improvement of the product, Facebook turned Instagram into one of the most popular options for social media. It’s plausible that without Facebook’s experience and resources, Instagram would not thrive as it does today and instead be just another forgotten photo app.

The complaints against the acquisition of WhatsApp are even more puzzling. Although it’s the largest messaging app with over two billion users, Facebook has yet to figure out a way to recoup its investment in the popular app. This fact is also noted in the lawsuits. This is unsurprising, as competition in the messaging space is incredibly high. Texts and iMessage, FaceTime, Google Messenger, and dozens of other apps are all available free of charge to connect us to our friends and family.

Many forget it wasn’t that long ago when cellular calls were charged by the minute, and there were horror stories of teenagers racking up huge text messaging bills. With WhatsApp, you can voice and video call two billion people across the globe for free. This is an incredible boon for users of the app and consumer welfare generally.

It’s clear from examining the messaging and social media space that while Facebook is no doubt successful, it also certainly faces stiff competition. Despite only launching in 2016, Chinese-based Tik-Tok has been downloaded over 1.5 billion times, making it the seventh most downloaded app of the decade. It’s the most popular app with Generation Z, while many in that age group are rejecting the Facebook app altogether. Facebook also faces competition from companies like Linkedin, Twitter, Snapchat and unknown apps currently in development. Yet, due to the incredibly narrow market definition of “Personal Social Networking Services,” the lawsuit dismisses these competitors and hardly mentions Tik-Tok at all.

The other argument the lawsuits make against these mergers is that Facebook’s alleged monopoly has led to reduced innovation for consumers and higher prices for advertisers. These claims are specious at best. Anyone on Instagram or Facebook over the past decade has seen the myriad of changes in layout, design, and other features, as they try to keep up with competition. As far as advertisers, prices for online ads have decreased by 40 percent over the past decade. Meanwhile, print, radio and television have all increased. This is far from proof that Facebook is commanding monopoly prices for online ads.

Attempting to roll back previously approved acquisitions simply because they worked out establishes a terrible precedent for both federal agencies and attorney’s general offices. Facebook has acquired more than 80 companies with varying degrees of return on investment. Should we only count the successes? How would this affect any other company looking to improve itself by acquiring technology, talent or other brands? Would they also be forced to break off acquisitions if their decision proved too profitable?

The Facebook antitrust lawsuit ironically follows the antitrust lawsuit against Google by the Department of Justice and 13 attorneys general. The Google lawsuit alleged the company had a monopoly on search traffic, allowing for higher advertising profits. Sound familiar? Antitrust actions may also soon follow against Amazon. Given the competition between many of these successful companies, it leads one to wonder if something other than consumer welfare is driving these antitrust actions.

Regardless of the motives, rolling back successful acquisitions is not only impractical but terrible policy. Antitrust should be focused on ensuring consumer welfare, not punishing American business success.

By Eric Peterson
Go to Source
Reposted with permission

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Trump Expands Gulf of America Oil & Natural Gas Production

Reversing Biden administration policies that halted offshore leasing, prompting lawsuits and restricting oil and natural gas development, the Trump administration is expanding offshore capabilities.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum directed the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to hold the administration’s first offshore lease sales in the Gulf of America, with the first proposed notice of sale slated for June.

“By continuing to expand offshore capabilities, the United States ensures affordable energy for consumers, strengthens domestic industry and reinforces its role as an energy superpower,” the Interior Department says. “Opening the Outer Continental Shelf is central to this strategy as it unleashes domestic energy potential that had been blocked under the previous administration,” and is expected to generate tens of thousands of high-paying jobs throughout the industry.

The BOEM also released a new analysis stating that a significant increase of estimated oil and natural gas reserves exists in the Gulf of America Outer Continental Shelf. BOEM’s updated assessment evaluated more than 140 oil and natural gas fields, identifying 18 new discoveries, and analyzed more than 37,000 reservoirs across 1,336 fields in the Gulf.

It says there’s an “additional 1.3 billion barrels of oil equivalent since 2021, bringing the total reserve estimate to 7.04 billion barrels of oil equivalent. This includes 5.77 billion barrels of oil and 7.15 trillion cubic feet of natural gas – a 22.6% increase in remaining recoverable reserves.”

“This new data confirms what we’ve known all along – America is sitting on a treasure trove of energy, and under President Trump’s leadership, we’re unlocking it,” Burgum said. “The Gulf of America is a powerhouse, and by streamlining permitting and expanding access, we’re not just powering our economy – we’re strengthening our national security and putting thousands of Americans back to work.”

The comprehensive review added 4.39 billion barrels of oil equivalent in original reserves, BOEM found. “After subtracting production of 3.09 billion barrels of oil equivalent since 2020–2021, the net increase reflects continued opportunity and momentum in offshore development,” it says.

“The Gulf of America is delivering 14% of the nation’s oil,” BOEM Gulf of America Regional Director Dr. James Kendall said. “These updated estimates reaffirm the Gulf’s vital role in ensuring a reliable, affordable domestic energy supply.”

The BOEM oversees nearly 3.2 billion acres of the Outer Continental Shelf, with roughly 160 million acres located in the Gulf.

“Energy dominance is a pillar of U.S. economic strength and global leadership,” the Interior Department argues. “By expanding offshore capabilities, the United States ensures affordable energy for consumers, creates high-paying jobs, and reduces dependence on foreign adversaries. … Expanded leasing is projected to create tens of thousands of jobs across exploration, production, logistics and supply chains — revitalizing coastal economies and fueling American innovation.”

Shell Offshore Inc., a subsidiary of Shell plc, also announced it is beginning production at Dover, a second subsea tieback connecting new wells to existing infrastructure of its Appomattox production hub in the Gulf of America. Dover’s estimated peak production is 20,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day, it says.

Shell is the leading deep-water operator in the Gulf of America; Dover was discovered under the first Trump administration in 2018.

It’s located in Mississippi Canyon, roughly 170 miles offshore southeast of New Orleans.

Shell estimates that Dover will “contain 44.5 million barrels of oil equivalent recoverable resources, adding stable, secure energy resources.”

Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas activities have generated billions of dollars in revenue from lease sales, rental fees and royalties to the federal government and states, helping to fund infrastructure, education and public services and wildlife conservation. They also help strengthen U.S. energy independence, national security and global stability, by reducing reliance on foreign producers, the Trump administration argues.

Offshore production in the Gulf of America accounts for the third greatest volume in the country, of nearly 1.8 million barrels of oil per day, according to Energy Information Agency data from January. The greatest volume is produced in the Permian Basin in west Texas, which leads the U.S. in oil and natural gas production, The Center Square reported.

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