CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News
1. TECHNOLOGY
Owners of iPhones sue Apple over alleged monopolistic behavior.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Technology Policy Analyst Cord Blomquist on why the lawsuits are a frivolous exercise:
“The suit claims that locking phones to networks is a monopolistic business practice. But how is designing a phone to work with a network monopolistic? Apple chose AT&T as its carrier partner, so iPhone software is coded to operate with the AT&T network. Some phone manufacturers sell an unlocked version of their cell phones, but Apple elected to keep the iPhone connected to AT&T. Just as it would be unreasonable to demand that Windows software run on a Mac, it is equally unreasonable to demand a universal iPhone.”
2. LEGAL
International travel to the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />U.S. declines in the face of increasingly severe travel restrictions.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Special Projects Counsel Hans Bader on the government’s misplaced security priorities:
“While the government is busy hassling and delaying harmless tourists from Britain, New Zealand, and Germany, who want to spend money in America, it is doing little to crack down on potential terrorists, since the Transportation Department indiscriminately hassles passengers in general, while needlessly banning ‘profiling’ based on a host of characteristics other than race, such as country of origin.”
3. BUSINESS
The merger of Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite faces regulatory scrutiny from the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Vice President for Policy Wayne Crews on the prospects for the merger:
“The proposed XM/Sirius satellite merger — awaiting OKs from the Justice Department and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) — represents the antitrust establishment’s latest target…and potential casualty. Smokestack-era antitrust law presents one of today’s gravest threats to hyper-competitive frontier industries and the customers they serve. Fortunately many Wall Street analysts foresee a favorable decision come early December. Bear Stearns analysts put approval at 70 percent.”
Blog feature: For more news and analysis, updated throughout the day, visit CEI’s blog, Open Market.
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