An Inside Look at the Legal War Against Free Speech

Kevin Price interviewed Carl Szabo, Vice President and General Counsel of NetChoice. They discussed the lawsuits that have made it to the Supreme Court that threaten to undermine some of our most basic freedoms. They discussed:

• Antitrust is law that focuses on protecting consumers and the benefits they receive from a competitive marketplace: lower prices, higher-quality goods, and more innovative products.
• At its core, antitrust should protect and promote competition to ensure consumers get the lowest prices and best quality possible. Antitrust is not meant to shield businesses, small or large, from more innovative or efficient competitors.
• In a free-market society like ours, we want competition between businesses, and we want to punish behavior that prevents competition and harms consumers. So, American antitrust law protects the market so that consumers get the best deal possible from that market.
• Antitrust law is enforced by the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Justice.
• The Consumer Welfare Standard is the north star of antitrust analysis in the United States. It asks if a business practice hurts or helps consumers. If it’s the former, it’s likely to be found unlawful; if it’s the latter, it’s likely to be found lawful. This objective standard ensures the government’s enforcement actions respond to real, not speculative problems.

Carl worked at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on the staff of Commissioner Orson Swindle, where he helped create and implement the FTC’s Consumer Information Security Outreach Plan and assisted the George W. Bush White House in establishing the National Strategy for Cyber Security. More of his experience is included here: BIOGRAPHY