Focus of Antitrust Enforcement Away From Consumers Problematic, Says Ohlhausen

Concern that a few, large tech companies will dominate the market is leading some to want to "rewrite" antitrust enforcement considerations from a consumer protection focus to other various goals, which may disregard people's welfare, said acting FTC Chairman Maureen Ohlhausen in remarks prepared for a Georgetown University antitrust symposium Tuesday. Regulators don't have a "crystal ball" to figure out how and where these new technologies should develop and be used, she said: "Second-guessing" the market without showing harm to consumers substitutes consumer preferences with regulatory ones. Ohlhausen said the idea that top tech companies could widen their market advantages in the future is "uncertain" since many understand they have a "tenuous" hold on their current position. She suggested regulators need more "empirical evidence" on how markets lose "their dynamism, innovation, and creativity" before trying to restructure them. Ohlhausen rebuffed arguments that technological advancements that disrupt current business models are considered "pernicious." She said enforcers should address behaviors that undermine the competitive process and governments should remove barriers to market entry and competition. Ohlhausen discussed "predatory pricing" and network effects, saying the current framework is "sufficiently flexible" to address such issues. "Antitrust enforcement should always turn on the specific facts of each individual case and the likelihood of actual consumer harm," she said: Regulators should bring cases where consumer interest is harmed and refine tools that show likely harm.