Thread by @matthewstoller

I'm sorry, but this @csternopher story is inaccurate. I like Gene a great deal, but he's a consumer rights guy not a foe of big tech. For example he pushed for DOJ to sue book publishers on behalf of Amazon, thus solidifying Amazon's market power in books. theinformation.com/articles/the-b…

There's a tendency to read 'Democrat X wants more antitrust enforcement and likes consumers therefore X is a reformer,' but that view reflects a misunderstanding of the debate. Consumer rights types often support concentrating power with the goal of getting conduct changes.

There is a potent debate about whether to orient antitrust around consumer welfare/efficiency or around the competitive process and small business. Kimmelman is a consumer welfare advocate which is why he doesn't seek to break up big tech.

One of the key reasons this merger is on the table is precisely because Gene Kimmelman and the Obama DOJ helped clear the road for Amazon's book monopoly. Faced with publishers banding together to compete with Amazon, Kimmelman sued... the publishers.

https://twitter.com/matthewstoller/status/1331604214783602688

The reason Kimmelman advocated suing book publishers who were trying to stand up to Amazon is because his view was that Amazon's lower book prices were good for consumers, and that a concentrated market structure wasn't relevant. Consumerism!

Gene Kimmelman's recommendation to deal with big tech is not to break them up, but to have a code of conduct for the platforms, to be negotiated by the platforms. Here's a paper he wrote on the subject. brookings.edu/events/could-a…